Tegucigalpa, Honduras
22-25 October 2019
Convened Participants
Presidents of the Health Committees of the Parliaments of:
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, United States of America and Venezuela.
Other Convened Participants
CARICOM, COMISCA, Central American Court of Justice, Caribbean Court of Justice, FAO, FOPREL, IOM, IPU, PARLACEN, PARLANDINO, PARLASUR, PARLATINO, Special Olympics, SICA UNICEF and WHO.
Other parliamentary groups will also participate, including: the Regional Parliamentary Front against Tuberculosis, the Parliamentary Group against Hunger, the Interamerican Parliamentary Group, the Hemispheric Network of Parliamentarians and Former Parliamentarians for Early Childhood, among others.
Background
In June 2015, at the initiative of the Health and Population Committee of the Congress of the Republic of Peru and with the support of the Pan American Health Organization/ Regional Office of the World Health Organization for the Americas (PAHO / WHO), the first congress of Health Commissions of the Parliaments of the Americas was held, with the vision of generating a space of knowledge, analysis and exchange of permanent experiences on topics of interest in health matters; identify the common critical aspects that affect the quality of life of the population of the continent; and strengthen the capacities of parliamentarians in the preparation and approval of legal frameworks in accordance with public policies that allow the full exercise of the right to health.
Another underlying idea, which was consolidated in Panama, the venue for the second congress held in May 2016, was the promotion of a regional plan for the harmonization of health-related legislation in accordance with international instruments and commitments of the countries, in the path to universal health coverage. Likewise, the proposal for the creation of a Network of Parliamentarians of the Health Commissions was discussed in order to strengthen links of permanent communication and exchange of legislation, plans, strategies and experiences with favorable impact in the solution to problems that affect health.
In November 2017, in Santiago, Chile, in its third exhibition, a call was made to analyze the challenges to health in the 21st century and the need to continue promoting the legislative work of the countries in a methodical and systematic manner with the objective of promoting the effective realization of the right to health, recognizing the great challenges faced by nations given the diversity of determinants for health, particularly risk factors.
In August 2018, in Montevideo, Uruguay, in its fourth exhibition, entitled "Legislating on Health as a Tool for Social Inclusion", the Congress addressed three major thematic axes: i) non-communicable diseases (the regulatory approach to risk factors, focused on the front labeling of nutritional warning and advertising regulation, as well as tobacco control); ii) the path to universal health (discussing the role of the national health authority and the provision of services, as well as the challenge of border health and immigration, the commitment to end tuberculosis in the Americas , and road safety); and iii) sexual and reproductive health rights and early childhood.
Objectives
General Objective
The Congress of Health Committees of the Parliaments of the Americas has the overall objective to generate an international space of knowledge, analysis and permanent exchange of experiences on topics of interest in health; to identify the common critical aspects that affect the quality of life of the population of the Americas; and to strengthen the capacities of parliamentarians in the preparation and approval of legal frameworks in accordance with public policies to promote the full exercise of the right to health for the population of the countries of the American Continent.
Objectives of the V Congress
- Discuss the most relevant issues of public health and the progress of health legislation in a shared experience at the regional level.
- Present experiences of legislation and regulatory frameworks in critical health issues, based on the best evidence.
- Explore compatibility with regional agreements and international human rights instruments.
- Present experiences of legislation and regulatory frameworks in critical health issues, informed by the best scientific and technical evidence.
- Define the main themes and priorities that allow us to continue moving towards a regional legislative agenda.
- Consolidate the configuration of the Parliamentary Network of Health Commissions of the Americas, its Work Plan for the following years and develop multilateral cooperation agendas.
Methodology
The V Congress of Health Committees of the Parliaments of the Americas is a fully interactive set of conferences and open discussions to be developed through a thematic agenda, with a moderated discussion among legislators, international organizations and the technical staff of the institutions convened. It is proposed to discuss the most important public health challenges, but, above all, to identify aspects of common problems, good practices and failed exercises, with the aim of harmonizing the legislation in full accordance with the instruments of human rights and international recommendations, with the idea of delineating general conclusions that can later be implemented in domestic legislation in the participating countries.