VII Congress of the Health Committees of the Parliaments of the Americas

"The current challenges of public health from the parliamentary perspective"

This congress is conducted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of Mexico with the overall goal to:

Build a space for knowledge, analysis and exchange of experiences on topics of interest for the strengthening of health systems, developing the capacities of the countries in the preparation and approval of legal frameworks in accordance with public policies that allow the full exercise of the right to health and universal health coverage.

Specific goals

• Discuss the most relevant issues of public health and the advances of health legislation in a shared experience at the regional level;
• Present experiences of legislation and regulatory frameworks on critical health issues focused on achieving access and universal health coverage;
• Generate knowledge about the processes, good practices, and strategies that can be used successfully in the generation of homogeneous health legislation on common issues in the Americas;
• Consolidate the configuration of the Network of Parliamentarians of the Health Committees, a common work plan for the following years and be able to develop multilateral cooperation agendas.

Methodology

This congress will continue the promotion of the exchange of experiences on health legislation through conferences, presentations and discussions that will be grouped in an agenda centered on five thematic axis that allows discussing the opportunities and challenges that are presented to the congressmen such as mental health, stop the tuberculosis, the promotion of road safety, healthy eating and the challenges of universal vaccination.

Each of the 5 panels will have a series of conclusions and recommendations and will be moderated between legislators and the technical staff of the institutions convened.

The debates will seek to analyze the most important legal / legislative challenges that favor the consolidation of universal, fair, inclusive, equitable, efficient health systems, with quality and warmth, but, above all, to identify the aspects of common problems, good practices in the Region and areas of opportunity in the environment of the new challenges and benefits of harmoniously updating health legislation in face of emergencies and disasters within the context of an interconnected digital society and the adequate fulfillment of the right to health.

Background

The first congress of Health Committees of the Parliaments of the Americas took place 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 / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Its objectives were generating a space for knowledge, analysis, and exchange of experiences on topics of interest in health; identifying common critical aspects that affect the quality of life of the continent's population; and strengthening 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, site of the second congress held in May 2016, was the promotion of a regional plan for the harmonization of health-related legislation in accordance with the international instruments and commitments of the countries, towards better access and universal health coverage. The proposal for the creation of a Network of Parliamentarians of the Health Committees was discussed as it allows for closer links of permanent communication and exchange of legislation, plans, strategies and experiences with a favorable impact on the solution of problems that affect health.

In the third edition of the Congress, which happened in November 2017, in Santiago de Chile, a call was made to analyze the health challenges in the 21st century and the need to continue promoting the legislative work of the countries in a methodical and systematic way, with the objective of promoting the effective realization of the right to health, recognizing the great challenges that nations face given the diversity of conditioning factors that determine health, in particular risk factors.

In August 2018, in Montevideo, with the motto "Legislate in health as a tool for social inclusion", the Presidents of the Health Committees and members of some other legislative groups met to discuss three fundamental axes of public health: the regulatory approach to risk factors for noncommunicable diseases, focusing on frontal nutritional warning labeling and public regulation, and tobacco control.

The stewardship role of the national health authority was discussed, as well as the legislative advances of the reform of health systems on the road to universal health; the challenge of health at borders and migration; the commitment to end tuberculosis in the Americas; as well as the need for legal strengthening aimed at road safety. The third axis fostered the discussion on the assurance of sexual and reproductive rights in legislation, and early childhood development and early stimulation, based on parliamentary work.

The broad discussion agenda also favored debates on the migration of health professionals as a challenge for the parliamentary agenda and regional integration; formulas for the translation of health policies into national legislation, focusing on human rights; as well as the need to shield advances in health from changes in government.

In October 2019, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, topics discussed included climate change and environmental determinants of health, based on parliamentary work; the commitments of the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on tuberculosis; the essential public health functions at the service of the legislative agenda towards universal health, as well as the challenges and opportunities to strengthen health systems; the main effective regulatory measures to combat obesity and promote healthy eating and alcohol control, as a citizen's right. Likewise, the report on the launch in Paraguay of the Parliamentary Network for Road Safety in America, under the guidance of PAHO/WHO--which is the technical secretariat of the Network, was presented.

In 2020, given the pandemic situation stressed out globally, the annual congress was held online, under the hosting of the National Congress of Argentina, coordinating both chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The intense agenda was developed through three virtual sessions during October, November and December, with the main topic to discuss about "the digital transformation for health and to support better decisions in public health/challenges and opportunities for the parliamentarians.

The discussion was coordinated through three seminars:

1. The main challenges and gaps in legal instruments for digital health, with panels on Telehealth / telemedicine and the challenge of equity; interoperability of medical records as a fundamental axis of health services, as well as Artificial Intelligence: a responsible and safe implementation in Public Health, and how to ensure sustainability;
2. The connectivity and the legislation agenda, with panels on the challenge of access to critical data, medical and public health information; the problem of the infodemics and how to regulate the intentional use of false information; as well as citizen participation in the digital age and the voice of the disconnected;
3. The digital revolution in health and the rights based approach, with panels on open information (open data, open access and open source) and the challenges of privacy, cybersecurity and confidentiality; creativity, the new challenges for intellectual property rights in health; transparency in decision-making and accountability.