The meeting took place as part of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Petro asked to discuss patents and technology transfer in the health sector.
During the meeting, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), accompanied by the Director of the Organization for Health and Multilateral Alliances, Gaudenz Silberschmidt, invited the Colombian head of state to attend the 76th World Health Assembly, which will be held next May in Geneva.
The government of Gustavo Petro, the first progressive and leftist in this South American country, has set itself the goal of implementing a health care reform that guarantees the right to health for the entire population.
On January 14, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (Minsalud) announced new details about the reform at an act in Villavicencio, capital of the Meta department.
According to Carolina Corcho, head of the ministry, the health system should be understood as a comprehensive model that prevents diseases and responds to them with an effective service, influenced by other factors that affect the quality of life of Colombians.
«We want health to come into the home, into the educational institution, that people do not have to travel, that they are cared for as close as possible to where they live; The challenge ahead is for the model to go beyond prevention,” said the health minister.
This means that the human talent in health care needs to reach the areas that carry out promotion and prevention under the solution components presented in the reform, so that doctors can carry out treatments or immediately refer the patient to specialized services if necessary.
Corcho believes that the healthcare reform is not an exclusive initiative of the national government, but is a proposal and demands from the social movements and civil society, which have analyzed the country’s current healthcare system and exposed the failings.
In this regard, several policies, some by draft law, have been enacted to ensure that the system prevents disease and maintains and improves the health of the population.
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