11/17/2018
Press Bulletin No. 180, 2018
- At the start of this Government, resources have been secured for system operation and for progress in the country's public health.
Bogotá (DC), November 17, 2018. In the first 100 days of President Iván Duque's government, the health sector received a significant resource allocation, and made important efforts to strengthen public health programs and to improve the quality of care for Colombian patients.
$32.3 trillion pesos from the National General Budget was allocated to the health sector for 2019, as well as $780 billion for the 2018 financial closing, which guarantees the necessary liquidity in the short term.
As part of the structural solutions of the sector, the Ministries of Health and Finance initiated the design of an end-point agreement with the purpose of providing for the sector debts that have accumulated for years.
The agreement seeks to develop and implement a strategy that injects liquidity into the system with the identification, valuation, agreement and payment of possible debts of the national and territorial governments with agents of the sector, and to promote the payment of accumulated debts among them.
A group of experts was formed for this purpose, and a pathway for agreement design, which should be structured by April next year in the processes, implementation times and required regulatory projects.
In terms of public health, during these three months progress has been made in strengthening programs that determine collective health in the country. Among them are:
- Colombia renewed its commitment to adopt the End of Tuberculosis by 2025 strategy, including the adoption of measures that allow diagnoses and shortened treatments.
- The Ministry organized the week for Healthy, Safe and Sustainable Mobility and will sign a National Pact, the purpose of which is to reduce deaths and injuries in traffic accidents. Today, these events represent a huge challenge in public health with more than 7,000 deaths per year. This pact seeks to promote investment in promotion and prevention actions in the most affected territories.
- The Ministry of Health presented the National Mental Health Policy in response to the high rates of depression, considered one of the country's public health priorities. This is the most frequent disorder in adolescents, youth and adults, together with suicide and attempted suicide.
Within the framework of this Mental Health Policy, construction began on the new Comprehensive Policy for the Prevention and Care of Psychoactive Substance Use, which will be presented in mid-December as a result of the work of an expert technical panel.
In order to respond to the public health challenges caused by the migratory phenomenon, the Ministry of Health expanded the vaccination schedule in the country and introduced the zero dose of the measles vaccine for 6-11 month-old babies.
The administration of the zero dose has already started in the District of Cartagena and in the provinces of Bolívar, Atlántico, Magdalena, Norte de Santander, Nariño and La Guajira, where cases imported from Venezuela have appeared.
The National Government added $65 billion for the 2018 closing of the Expanded Program on Immunization and $100 billion more for 2019, which means $385 billion for next year. These resources guarantee the complete financing of the national vaccination program (21 biologicals that prevent 26 infectious-contagious diseases), including the care to Venezuelan migrants.
To improve the quality of health services provided to users of public hospitals in the country, the Ministry of Health designed and implemented the immediate action plan to strengthen public hospitals in Colombia.
This plan includes specific actions to improve the quality of care, investments in physical infrastructure and equipping, strengthening of human talent and payment of liabilities. The first phase established implementing it in eight public hospitals in San Andrés, Tumaco, Maicao, Buenaventura, Valledupar, Quibdó, Puerto Carreño and Leticia.
