Call to build health equity

Taking as a starting point the provocative article recently developed jointly by the Pan American Health Organization and the Health Equity Network of the Americas (HENA) and published in the Pan American Health Journal under the title “Do not remain blind to equity: lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas”¹ we call for action by raising the need to have information systems for advancing prosperity and development in Latin America and for monitoring health equity, the resilience of health systems, and the implementation of explicit policies and practices aimed at eliminating health inequities. Here, we share some reflections that have emerged within the Board of Directors and the Technical Secretariat of the HENA.

We believe that this aspiration will find fertile ground—if and only if—we move forward as a society in placing action for equity on the tables of political discussion and the search for consensus on how, to date, global mechanisms and instruments incorporate or exclude the diverse voices in decision-making in accordance with the historical and social realities of the different countries that make up our Latin American region.

It is enough to recall the evidence of death and suffering, as well as the exclusionary and individualistic decisions and measures applied during the COVID-19 pandemic; many of these linked to inequalities in access to health supplies, weaknesses or delays in the response, financial fragility, technological dependence and limited distribution of benefits. Consequently, it is necessary to move towards equity, not as a goal but as the principle that guides the formulation of local, regional, and global policies.

It is precisely from this conviction that we consider the Agreement on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response launched by the World Health Organization in June 2024,² whose objective is to create a solid framework for global health security, ensuring that all countries are better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to future pandemics, must be based on a cross-cutting approach of equity that guides the participatory and integrative design of public policy. Some controversies have come to light and have highlighted the deep concerns of interest groups who feel or perceive that the proposed change negatively affects them, such as national sovereignty vs. global public health, equity in access to tests, vaccines, and treatments, intellectual property, and technology transfer and financing. Common criticisms are the lack of ambition for international cooperation, centralization, implications for national security, and the lack of sensitivity to the urgency for adaptation to future pandemics.

For these reasons, we call to overcome particular interests and concerns and emphasize the responsibility as a global society to contribute to future generations achieving their health with more significant opportunities for development and well-being.

It is time to value and recognize the capacities and potential of our region in the search for global solutions and to promote analysis, reflections, and recommendations that feed the search for consensus based on our realities, particularities, and experience in working closely with people, communities, and territories, without waiting for external calls. Latin America has the potential to lead with innovative solutions based on the experience of its health systems, which have demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and responses based on people, as well as their cultural and social diversity. We must position ourselves as a region that leads the search for equity and sustainability in health globally. That is why we offer our will and capabilities to develop processes that build well-being for all people.

Contributors

Conceptualization: L. Galvao.

Data curation: L. Solis.

Supervision: R. Sáenz.

Validation: All authors.

Writing–original draft: All authors.

Writing–review & editing: L. Solis.

Submission decision: R. Sáenz.

Declaration of interests

We declare no competing interests.