The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) reported on Friday the appointment of Víctor Hugo Borja Aburto as the new head of the decentralized body of the Ministry of Health. As of January 1 of this year, Borja took over the leadership of Cofepris, replacing Armida Zúñiga Estrada, who held the position from October 2024 to December 2025. Borja Aburto is a surgeon with a doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds master's degrees in Public Health and Epidemiological Sciences from the National Institute of Public Health. “He is a Mexican public health specialist with national and international recognition for his contributions to epidemiology, environmental health, and health risk assessment,” the institution emphasized. The new head's career at the Ministry of Health was also highlighted, as he was the founding director of the National Center for Environmental Health and director of Risk Analysis. Additionally, it was noted that at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), he led coordination and regulatory units from where “he promoted the strengthening of preventive programs, the improvement of epidemiological information systems, and evidence-based decision-making.” The academic trajectory of the new director, whose contributions have helped in “the formation of public policies and regulations on health and environmental risks,” was also emphasized. “The Ministry of Health recognizes that his solid training, technical experience, and management skills represent an ideal profile to continue strengthening Cofepris's regulatory work,” the statement said. In her morning conference this Friday, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced this change at the “important” institution where, she said, “everything related to health, new medicines, and food is approved.” She also recalled that since the arrival of her predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), a “very thorough review of how corruption was there (in Cofepris)” was carried out and that “it has improved a lot.” The head of state also indicated that the decision for this change in the agency was made by the secretary of health, Dr. David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz. “We don't want any corruption, and it has to be an efficient institution that can deliver the results of a review on time so that there is greater development in the country in terms of medicines and health-related activities,” Sheinbaum emphasized.
