Washington, D.C., October 20, 2025 – Representatives from the national health funds of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay participated in the first in-person meeting of the Network of National Health Funds in the Americas (REFSA, by its Spanish acronym), held in Santiago de Chile. The initiative, led by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), aims to strengthen technical cooperation and health financing across the Region.
During the meeting, national health authorities and PAHO representatives – including Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health of Chile; Camilo Cid, Director of Chile’s Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA); Giovanni Escalante, PAHO/WHO Representative in Chile; Dárcio Guedes, President of REFSA and Director of Brazil’s Fundo Nacional de Saúde; and Ernesto Báscolo, Chief of the Primary Health Care and Integrated Service Delivery Unit at PAHO/WHO – highlighted the role of national health funds as key instruments to advance toward more equitable and sustainable health systems.
Country representatives agreed on the need to move toward more integrated, transparent, and results-oriented financial management models, supported by mechanisms that strengthen equity, accountability, and the sustainability of health systems.
The exchange included presentations of national experiences, such as those of Chile’s Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA) and Colombia’s Administradora de los Recursos del Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud (ADRES), which showcased progress in strategic purchasing, expanding financial protection, and improving efficiency in the use of public resources.
Among the key topics discussed, participants underscored the importance of national health funds in ensuring equitable access and financial protection for the population; the relevance of strategic purchasing of services as a tool to improve spending efficiency; and the need to diversify funding sources and strengthen interinstitutional cooperation.
The countries also identified common areas of work in research and comparative analysis of national funds, digitalization of financial management, and the use of information technologies to enhance resource allocation and transparency.
The meeting also served to consolidate REFSA’s governance structure and to agree on a shared roadmap for the coming years, focused on strengthening national technical capacities, deepening the exchange of experiences, and developing regional tools to support progress toward universal and sustainable health systems.
With PAHO’s technical support, REFSA is consolidating itself as a regional cooperation platform among the countries of the Americas to promote equity, efficiency, and sustainability in public health financing—reaffirming their commitment to stronger technical cooperation and to finding joint solutions to improve the management and sustainability of health systems.
