Ecuador chairs an international meeting to approve decisions in favor of Andean health – Ministerio de Salud Pública

Ecuador, April 22, 2022.

On Friday, April 22, 2022, the Minister of Public Health, Ximena Garzón, opened the 34th (34th) Extraordinary Meeting of Ministers of Health (REMSAA), made up of the Member States of the Andean Health Organization – the Hipólito Unano Agreement. (ORAS – CONHU) among them: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Venezuela.

Minister Garzón has been the Pro-Tempore Chair of REMSAA since June 2021. This meeting is organized by ORAS – CONHU once a year in an ordinary and extraordinary manner at the request of the President of two member countries or the Executive Secretariat.

ORAS – CONHU is a sub-regional integration organization at the Andean level that coordinates and supports the efforts of member countries to improve the health of their people. Promotes collaborative procedures and mechanisms that promote the development of systems and methodologies in public health.

Garzon emphasized, during his welcoming speech, that this organization constitutes a strategic pillar for the regional development of health. “It plays an essential role in the process of assimilation of the Andean peoples who have demonstrated their commitment to the health of our population.”

The virtual meeting was attended by delegates or representatives of the ministries of health of member countries and the Executive Secretary of ORAS-CONHU, Maria del Carmen Calle. She noted that “this space makes it possible to enhance responses to the joint action undertaken by the six countries. Our commitment generates healthy sovereignty to face other emergencies or epidemics in the future.”

During the meeting, the Executive Secretariat presented the management and financial report for 2021. In addition, the Member States approved the following decisions: ORAS-CONHU’s annual operating plan and budget for 2022; Creation of the Andean Immunization Commission and the Andean Frontier Vaccination Week; Mechanisms for negotiation and access to medicines and supplies at the Andean level.

Likewise, the resolution was revised to approve the “Andean Policy to Address the Pandemic of Overweight and Obesity”. This policy will be considered in Ecuador’s Ten-Year Health Plan 2022-2032.

Since Ecuador assumed the presidency of REMSAA, a policy line has been run aimed at strengthening the leadership role of ORAS CONHU and setting it as an example to respond to the needs of countries in the region, demonstrating the inequality and weakness of health systems. . In addition, strengthening the negotiation mechanism and possible joint acquisition of medicines and supplies.

In this context, Garzon congratulated the National Council on Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence ORAS and all countries of the subregion, for the initiative to strengthen the Action Plan for the Prevention of Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence. “Obesity and overweight are problems that, although they can be avoided, are increasingly getting worse.”

As part of the overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its commitment to ORAS CONHU, Ecuador emphasized establishing clear and impactful work with immunization programs in Andean countries and national health authorities, prioritizing access to a vaccine.

For this reason, the Andean Immunization Commission was created, which aims to prepare a plan of action that will help improve immunization coverage in the Andean region and give continuity to the process and establishment of the Vaccination Week on the Andean frontier.

Ecuador, by participating in this extraordinary meeting, expressed its commitment to continue working together to contain and mitigate the epidemic; Without stopping to implement basic health measures such as promotion, prevention and priority service to the most vulnerable population.

# Together for health