Director de la OPS y presidente de Colombia refuerzan lazos de cooperación en salud – OPS/OMS

Bogotá, November 6, 2024 (PAHO).- The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, began a four-day official visit to Colombia this Tuesday with the aim of consolidating ties of cooperation with the country. On his first day in Bogotá, Barbosa met with the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro Urrego, accompanied by the PAHO representative in Colombia, Dr. Gina Tambini Gómez and officials from the national government.

During the meeting, several fundamental topics were addressed to advance the strengthening of health services in Colombia, recognizing the challenges of transformations to ensure access to the entire population, the impact of climate change on health and the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Emphasis was also placed on the need to ensure equitable access to medicines, vaccines and medical technologies.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Barbosa recognized the importance of some changes that the Colombian Government is implementing to expand access to health and improve the quality of care. “They are changes that are very aligned with the priorities that all the countries of the Americas have approved in recent years in the Pan American Health Organization, such as the expansion and strengthening of primary health care, with the strengthening of health systems in the territories to guarantee that all people have access to the care they need,” he noted.

The meeting also discussed the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which took place in Cali (Valle del Cauca) and received 170 international delegations to discuss global protection plans. . of biodiversity.

“Climate change is having significant negative effects on health. The increase in vector-borne diseases, deaths due to heat waves, food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition, droughts and floods” are some of the direct consequences,” emphasized the PAHO Director.

Another key topic of the meeting was the Global Ministerial Conference to End Violence against Children, which will be held on November 7 and 8, under the leadership of Colombia and the support of Sweden, UNICEF, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Violence against Children, and the World Health Organization (WHO). This event will have the participation of more than one hundred countries and 1,400 attendees from around the world, including world leaders, ministers, deputy ministers and representatives of international organizations. Its purpose is to promote global actions that guarantee a safe and violence-free future for girls, boys and adolescents.

“We are also going to look for a regional perspective on how we can strengthen the leadership of the health sector, and participate in this debate in each of the countries. It is very important to contribute the perspective of public health in the fight for the complete elimination of violence against children,” said Dr. Barbosa, who spoke at the opening of the event.

Finally, the Director of PAHO stressed that the Organization continues to collaborate closely with the Colombian government, local governments and partners through the implementation of the Cooperation Strategy with the country, signed at the beginning of this year. “We are in full implementation of the strategy, exchanging on topics such as mental health, elimination of diseases, attention to non-communicable diseases and access to medicines at the most used prices through PAHO regional funds. The Organization continues to provide technical support to the Ministry of Health on these and other priority issues,” he concluded.