En visita a Uruguay, Director de OPS se reunió con altas autoridades y destacó fortalezas del sistema de salud del país – OPS/OMS

Montevideo, December 6, 2023 (PAHO) – The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, visited Uruguay this week where he met with senior government officials, legislators and deans of medical schools, visited hospitals and health centers, and will attend the Regional Forum: Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas.

During the opening of the Forum, Dr. Barbosa launched the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, something he described as a “historic moment” and a “first step for the region to be a world leader in PHC.” The alliance is a collaboration of PAHO, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank with the countries of the region to expand and strengthen primary care.

Dr. Barbosa conveyed his gratitude to the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, who participated in the opening of the Forum on Monday, and highlighted the country’s Integrated National Health System (SNIS), which “provides coverage to 100% of the population with public spending on health greater than 6% of the gross domestic product -higher than the regional average- and out-of-pocket spending of only 15% of total health spending -lower than the average-.”

In his first official visit to the country since he considered the PAHO Directorate in February of this year, Dr. Barbosa met with Vice President Beatriz Argimón, Foreign Minister Omar Paganini, the Deputy Secretary of the Presidency and representative of the Uruguayan Cooperation Agency . International (AUCI), Rodrigo Ferrés, the Minister of Public Health, Karina Rando, the undersecretary José Luis Satdjian and the technical teams of the health portfolio, together with the PAHO/WHO representative in Uruguay, Hernán Montenegro.

In the meeting with the vice president, Dr. Barbosa pointed out that the country “has model primary health care for the region, from which other countries can draw lessons.” With the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, the PAHO director analyzed “the country’s potential for south-south cooperation on various health issues such as its primary health care model and we addressed the regional production of medical supplies and vaccines,” according to the Doctor Barbosa.

Dr. Barbosa toured the Legislative Palace and met with deputies Cristina Lustemberg and Milton Corbo, members of the Public Health and Social Assistance Commission of the House of Representatives. At the meeting they exchanged about the role that legislators have in formulating laws that promote and protect health.

The PAHO Director also held meetings with the dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of the Republic, Arturo Briva, and with Daniel Salinas, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Catholic University of Uruguay and former Minister of Health .

Dr. Barbosa also visited the Hospital de Clínicas, a university health center in Uruguay and a national reference in human resources training. On that tour, he spoke with those in charge of the Toxicological Information and Advice Center (CIAT), which is a collaborating center of PAHO / WHO. On another visit, he visited the Giordano Health Center of the State Health Services Administration (ASSE), a first-level care institution.

The PAHO Director’s agenda also included meetings with UN representatives in Uruguay, which aimed to reinforce joint work.

In a session parallel to the Regional Forum, Dr. Barbosa participated in an information session organized by PAHO, the IDB and the United States Department of State in order to provide information to delegates from the region about the Health and Safety Dialogue initiative. Economy of the Americas (EHA). EHA seeks to promote political commitment to strengthen public health and protect economies in order to be better prepared for an eventual next pandemic.

During the closing of the Regional Forum, the Director of PAHO concluded that after three days of exchange and reflection between representatives of more than 30 countries in the region, the idea that, without strong, renewed primary care, with resolution capacity, we are not going to have resilient health systems.”

For Dr. Barbosa, the Regional Forum and the new Alliance must now be translated into concrete actions. “We must transform this moment into a well-coordinated action to strengthen care,” he said.