Bogotá, November 5, 2024 (PAHO) — The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, began a four-day official visit to Colombia on Tuesday with the aim of strengthening 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 government officials.
During the meeting, several key issues were addressed, including strengthening health services in Colombia to ensure access for 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 guarantee equitable access to medicines, vaccines, and medical technologies.
At the end of the meeting, Dr. Barbosa recognized the importance of some of the changes that the Colombian government is implementing to expand access to health and improve quality of care. "These are changes that are very much aligned with the priorities that all countries in the Americas have approved in recent years at the Pan American Health Organization, such as the expansion and strengthening of primary health care," he said.
The meeting also focused on the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which took place in Cali (Valle del Cauca) and was attended by 170 international delegations to discuss global biodiversity protection plans.
"Climate change is having significant negative impacts on health. The increase in vector-borne diseases, deaths from 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 on Ending Violence Against Children, which will be held on November 7 and 8, under the leadership of Colombia and with the support of Sweden, UNICEF, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children, and the World Health Organization (WHO). This event will be attended by more than one hundred countries and 1,400 participants from around the world, including world leaders, ministers, deputy ministers, and representatives of international organizations. Its purpose is to promote global actions to ensure a safe and violence-free future for girls, boys, and adolescents.
"We will also seek a regional perspective on how we can strengthen the leadership of the health sector and participate in this debate in each country. It is very important to contribute the public health perspective to the fight for the complete elimination of violence against children," said Dr. Barbosa, who will be speaking at the opening of the event.
Finally, the PAHO Director emphasized that the Organization continues to collaborate closely with the Colombian government, local governments, and partners through the implementation of the Country Cooperation Strategy, signed at the beginning of this year. "We are in the process of implementing the strategy, exchanging ideas on topics such as mental health, disease elimination, non-communicable disease care, and access to more affordable medicines through PAHO's Regional Revolving Funds. The Organization continues to provide technical support to the Ministry of Health on these and other priority issues," he concluded.
