Bucaramanga, November 10, 2022. The deputy minister of social protection, Luis Alberto Martínez, participated in the Forum in Bucaramanga this Thursday for decent health for everyone, thinking about public health in the province of Santander.

Prior to his remarks to managers and directors of institutions, as well as health care workforce and students, the deputy minister listened to the needs of health personnel who work in hospitals, representatives of caregivers and users.

"We know that there are needs, challenges and we are willing to work with the public and human talent," said Deputy Minister Martínez.

This, he added, supports the initiative to transform the health system to one that truly guarantees the right to health of Colombians.

In line with the above, the deputy minister reviewed the main actions in the health system, resources, challenges for structural reform and the importance of controlling the social determinants of health for transformation.

Martínez also referred to the policies "that have emaciated" the public hospital network. As of September of this year, coverage of 98.81% has been achieved at the national level. "However, this coverage is not generalized at the province level, because we have found territorial entities with coverage of less than 60%."

"For us, the main challenge is to put the Statutory Health Law into practice, which states that health is a fundamental right," he said.

The deputy minister also mentioned tracer indicators showing the inequality of care and provision of services according to geographic location or the insurance regime.

"Exercises like this one, listening to human talent, to users and to academia, raise a national dialogue to carry out the structural reform that is required," he assured.

Health, he added, is more than the absence of disease, it is a state of well-being. "We all win if we have better health conditions, even the private company."

"We must put the human being at the center of the system, beyond transactions," he said.

In addition, "to advance in the concept of social health insurance, not in the notion of commercial insurance that we have today. And for this, we propose preparing territorialized management models, consolidating the PHC strategy as a guide for the system."

At this point he mentioned the need for a horizontal and fraternal dialogue with all communities, promoting the participation of civil society.

"Today, success is measured more by having full hospitalization services, but we need to go beyond this; keeping people healthy and caring for them in their most appropriate environment. For this, we must shift from fragmentation to complementation through networks."

Finally, deputy minister Martínez concluded with the need to jointly move forward. "All the actors with the participation of civil society" in the perspective of well-being and care, starting from prevention.