Overall, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region received modest attention from the P4H Network until 2022. The notable exceptions were Haiti, which benefited from a P4H-CFP from 2014 to 2020, and Colombia, which collaborated with Agence française de développement in 2013-2014. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was the only member of the P4H Network from the Americas up until 2022. The P4H Network has since 2022 substantially increased its activity in the LAC. The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) joined P4H, as have two academic members, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and University of Antioquia in Colombia.
Although certain countries in the region have made advances, challenges to progress towards UHC remain. These include persistent socioeconomic inequalities and fragmented health system financing.
Collaborations in the region
In late 2022, P4H took part in the Health Systems Research Symposium held in Bogotá, Colombia. Members of the P4H Steering Group – individuals representing institutional members of the P4H Network – and the P4H Coordination Desk contributed to the event along with participants from CCSS, USAID, the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents, the World Bank Group, and the World Health Organization.
The Pan American Health Organization’s country office in Mexico leads a political economy study of the transformation of the health system in Mexico. Analysing the actors and challenges in the transformation of the health system, the study provides key information on several topics. These include the state of the political economy for the ongoing transformation of the health system, its financing and equity prospects, as well as its resilience, soundness, economic and financial sustainability.
P4H continues to explore collaborations throughout LAC in many areas. Specifically, knowledge management is in development – capturing knowledge, packaging knowledge in studies and other forms, storing and sharing knowledge – with other partners, including academic organizations in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.
