Washington, D.C., 29 October 2026 (PAHO) – Members of the Network on Essential Public Health Functions (RedFESP) took part in a virtual assembly where they reviewed the agreements reached during the meeting held in Brasília last September, examined progress on the regional study on the institutionalization of the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHFs), and discussed work priorities for 2027.
The meeting was organized by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in its role as Technical Secretariat of RedFESP and brought together representatives from Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. The assembly also formalized the incorporation of El Salvador as Vice President of the RedFESP.
Network focal points exchanged reflections on the main outcomes of the regional meeting in Brasília, which for the first time brought together the RedFESP, the National Health Funds Network of the Americas (REFSA), and the Network to Advance Integrated Health Service Delivery Networks (Impulsa-RISS) to strengthen the alignment of governance, financing, and integrated service delivery as pillars of a comprehensive primary health care (PHC) approach. Ernesto Báscolo, Chief of PAHO’s Primary Health Care and Integrated Service Delivery Unit, highlighted that one of the key lessons from the meeting was the need to move beyond knowledge-sharing spaces toward permanent coordination mechanisms among the three networks.
Another topic addressed during the assembly was progress on the regional study on the institutionalization of the EPHFs. In this context, Viola Tuyud, an official from the Ministry of Health and Wellness of Belize, presented the country’s experience in integrating the EPHFs into health system planning and management processes. Natalia Houghton, representing the Technical Secretariat of the RedFESP, also shared an advanced draft of the regional report, which analyzes national experiences, enabling factors, challenges, and different institutionalization pathways observed across the Region. The document will now enter a review and feedback phase involving participating countries.
The assembly also advanced discussions on work priorities for 2027, including strengthening governance, institutionalizing the EPHFs, capacity development, and regional cooperation. Participants also examined opportunities for joint work with REFSA and Impulsa-RISS to promote coordinated actions aimed at strengthening health systems.
Carlos Alvarenga, Vice President of the RedFESP and Vice Minister of Health of El Salvador, emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration among the three regional networks and advancing leadership and management capacity development. “I believe the integration of the networks is very important, and we must create a strategic political linkage within countries because, although each network has its own representation, the vision of all the networks must be integrated at the country level,” he said.
Priority actions for the coming year include conducting regional studies on governance and institutionalization, strengthening exchanges among countries, developing leadership and management capacities, creating monitoring tools, and consolidating coordination mechanisms among the three regional networks.
Finally, as part of the current work plan, the assembly also introduced the new RedFESP Community of Practice on PAHO’s Virtual Campus for Public Health, conceived as a space to facilitate the exchange of experiences, tools, resources, and lessons learned among member countries.
In her closing remarks, Iritzel Santamaría, President of RedFESP and Deputy Director of Health Planning at Panama’s Ministry of Health, underscored the strategic role of the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHFs) in strengthening States’ capacities to steward, regulate, finance, coordinate, and evaluate health systems. “The Essential Public Health Functions constitute one of the non-delegable dimensions of stewardship for ministries of health and are a fundamental component for connecting primary health care priorities with their effective implementation,” Santamaría stated. “They continue to serve as the bridge between the principles of PHC and their concrete implementation in the territories,” she concluded.
The next RedFESP assembly will focus on advancing the validation of the regional study on institutionalization and consolidating the network’s 2027 work agenda.
