The Secretary of Health, David Kershenobich, acknowledged Mexico's progress towards a universal health system during a working meeting with Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Americas. The meeting highlighted the importance of programs like "Health House by House" to improve care and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases, especially in the elderly population.
Additionally, an agreement was announced between the World Bank (WB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and PAHO to invest in key areas mentioned by Kershenobich, such as promoting primary care. It was agreed to continue working together to improve health systems in the region, benefiting the population of several countries, including Mexico.
Key health sector officials were present at the meeting, such as the head of the Undersecretariat for Health Policy and Population Well-being, Ramiro López Elizalde, and the Undersecretary for Sectoral Integration and Coordination of Medical Care Services, Eduardo Clark García Dobraganes, among other key representatives. New collaboration strategies were explored to address the health challenges facing the American continent, with a special focus on Mexico.
Kershenobich emphasized Mexico's commitment, under the instructions of President Claudia Sheinbaum, to consolidate a public universal, free, and quality health system, emphasizing primary care and disease prevention. The possibility of designing agreements to address critical issues like tuberculosis, dengue, and the need to train qualified health personnel in public health and prevention topics was proposed.
For his part, Barbosa da Silva praised Kershenobich's efforts to strengthen the role of the Health Secretariat in Mexico, noting that the fragmentation of health systems in many countries in the region has created serious problems. Collaboration with PAHO and WHO focuses on chronic diseases and the training of medical personnel, seeking to improve public health at the hemispheric level.
