​Fonseca, La Guajira, October 14, 2022. The minister of health and social protection, Carolina Corcho, during her Thursday-Friday visit to La Guajira, spoke to different media in the region with the aim of addressing their concerns in this area of the country.

Regarding the current state of La Guajira, she informed that everything that has to be mobilized by the State will be mobilized so that no other boy or girl dies of malnutrition. And, regarding this point, she asked the community for its commitment to help locate minors who may be malnourished.

In reference the versions that point to the health reform bill, the minister assured that, as has been expressed at various moments and scenarios, "the National Government is waiting for these organizations, which are also conducting an open dialogue with other sectors of the society, to deliver the articulated project, so that we can disseminate it."

She stated that after receiving this document, the National Government will organize spaces for socialization and discussion, because "we want this to be improved by all the actors and subsequently filed before Congress next year."

Similarly, the minister noted that the priority of this year's legislative agenda is the Tax Reform, the Political Reform, the Escazú Agreement, among others.

"Next year we will have the widest space to discuss this proposal, which is very serious and has taken many years of work," said Corcho, specifying that the health reform project will be filed next semester.

"Right now, we are holding hearings to learn from the regions about the fundamental right to health. The civil society organizations that have been discussing the bill have made open calls, with various social movements in all regions of the country."

The minister was emphatic in stating that the fundamental right to health is in force in Colombia today, assuring that "all the actors in the system have to observe the fundamental right to health today."

In that order of ideas, she suggested tasks for all the actors in the system, focused on deploying actions in the territory against infant mortality, for example.

And she added that immediate, medium, and long-term actions are planned, but many of these social commitments and the strengthening of hospital infrastructure, for example, will depend on the approval of the Tax Reform.

"The social policies of the State are financed with taxes from those who have the most. We have faith that the Tax Reform will be approved," assured the head of the health ministry.

Regarding some doubts raised about the shortage of medicines in the country, Corcho indicated that, in effect, it is a problem that has been recorded in the country for at least six years, but that it is followed up and work is being done to overcome it, keeping in mind that it occurs for various and multiple reasons.

"The Ministry of Health intervened to facilitate, through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, centralized purchases with transnationals at the international level," said the minister, noting that it has been noted that some medicines have been found in pharmacies and not in the institutional channel.

"While we make these adjustments, we have given instructions at the Medicines Office to have substitutions. In the case of analgesics, they can be substituted with other analgesics that fulfill the same purpose," said Corcho, who also mentioned that this replacement can occur in oral contraceptives for the prevention of pregnancy.

"It can be replaced by others while we adjust the problem, which has many reasons, and we are in the process of solving it."

When asked about the situation of hunger in the country, she explained that obviously the health sector is insufficient to solve the problem of hunger, but that in this case, Social Prosperity, the School Feeding Program (PAE) and the Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) are working together.

"Children who are not in PAE must be in ICBF, but there must be a state protection system that recognizes them in order for food to arrive," assured the head of the health ministry.

Finally, she remarked that this situation has to do with water and that is why the Minister of Housing and Drinking Water has gone to La Guajira five times, because without water these kinds of public health problems occur, which are directly associated with social determinants.

"The T302 plan is a plan for social determinants of health. What we are doing in La Guajira is what we are going to do throughout the country."