Page 23 - HOH

The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that the meeting comes at a time
when the country is beginning a new stage of transformation. “We are going to guarantee that
the right to health is a reality, outlined in the Constitution,” he said.

López Obrador announced that his government will carry out changes to provide health care to
the 60 million Mexicans who, today, have no right to social security. “We will integrate the health
system, federalize it, and create a national institute of health for well-being that takes care of
those that do not have the possibility of obtaining insurance.”

Dr. Etienne congratulated President López Obrador for his “decision to reform Mexico’s health
system to ensure that universal health is a reality in the country.”

Tackling inequalities

Néstor Méndez, Assistant Secretary General of the OAS and President of the Commission
highlighted that “the Americas still suffer from persistent inequality that has resulted in
insufficient access to quality public services,” including health.

“It is vital that health systems are strengthened and integrated into social protection systems,
with the capacity to influence the social determinants of health, such as poverty and exclusion,
in order to improve the health of the population,” he added.

“We owe it to the most vulnerable in the Americas, those who cannot wait any longer to have a
healthy life and benefit from quality, timely and accessible health care services,” said Méndez.

For Michelle Bachelet, “health is one of the rights which we must ensure for everyone, without
any kind of exclusion. However, it is also one of the areas where there is greatest
infringements.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted that “we
must offer explicit and verifiable guarantees” so that health is a right for all. She also asked
states to “do more” and “commit themselves to the progressive realization of greater equity and

quality” in health.

“The right to health is built by leaving unequal relationships behind and by investing in health
services that are close to people,” she said, highlighting that “it is time to act. Governments, civil

society and the private sector must all get involved.”

The report was presented within the framework of the World Health Day celebrations, and 40

years after the Declaration of Alma-Ata, which advocated for health for all and claimed health as