Washington, D.C., 18 June 2026 (PAHO)— The Network on Essential Public Health Functions for Strengthening Stewardship and Governance (known in Spanish as RedFESP) welcomed Colombia and Cuba as new member countries during a virtual seminar that is part of a series of exchanges on the implementation and institutionalization of the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF) in the Region of the Americas.
The incorporation of both countries was announced at the opening of the meeting by the network’s President, Iritzel Santamaría, Deputy National Director of Health Planning of Panama. This addition expands the regional collaboration space bringing together representatives from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay to advance the institutionalization of the EPHF assessment and support continuous improvement.
During the opening session, Ernesto Báscolo, Chief of the Primary Health Care and Integrated Service Delivery Unit at PAHO, highlighted the strategic importance that the institutionalization of Essential Public Health Functions has acquired within the regional agenda. He emphasized that this issue has become a concrete line of action for strengthening health systems: “We are no longer framing it as an ideal condition for the future, but as part of our current agenda. The challenge is how we translate it into concrete actions through cross-country learning, and through the exchange of lessons learned, challenges, and good practices that enable progress toward the institutionalization of the EPHF”.
The agenda focused on the presentation of national and subnational experiences that contribute to systematizing progress, challenges, and lessons learned for the collaborative development of a regional document. Luis Daniel Soto Castro and Gerardo Ortega Navarrete from the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica presented the national experience of integrating the evaluation and monitoring of the EPHF into planning processes, including the incorporation of the methodology into the National Health Policy 2023–2033 and its action plan. Participants also heard from Hernán Darío Aguilar Ramírez from the Vice Ministry of Social Protection of Colombia who shared a subnational experience that enabled analysis of the implementation of continuous improvement mechanisms at different territorial levels, identifying challenges in institutional coordination and opportunities to consolidate progress toward the Universal Health model.
This technical dialogue among countries reinforced the network’s mutual learning perspective and contributes to consolidating a more systematic and sustainable approach to the EPHF.
This meeting is part of a series of seminars included in the RedFESP 2026 Work Plan, which prioritizes the institutionalization of assessment and continuous improvement as a strategic axis for strengthening stewardship, governance, and institutional capacities in public health. The inputs generated in these meetings feed into the development of a regional document aimed at promoting a harmonized approach across countries in the Region.
The meeting concluded with an update on the network’s next steps, including the continuation of the seminar series and progress in consolidating the regional document.
About the RedFESP Network
RedFESP is an initiative driven by the Member States of the Pan American Health Organization. Its purpose is to strengthen stewardship and governance in public health in the Region of the Americas through the implementation of the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF).
