- Mexico invests 2.5% of its GDP in health; On the other hand, countries like Denmark allocate up to 11%.
- The Covid-19 pandemic has been the most serious health emergency faced in the last 100 years.
- Civil organizations must be the basis for improving health systems.
The functioning of health systems and the role of patients must be transformed to offer better possibilities of care. This was highlighted by civil organizations during the panel “Advances and challenges of patient associations” that was held at the Innovation Week 2023 that the Mexican Association of Pharmaceutical Research Industries (AMIIF) carried out in conjunction with the Latin American Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (FIFARMA).
What is the role of civil organizations?
During your participation, Vincenzo D’EliaGeneral Manager of Alfasigma, recognized the role of patient organizations and the importance of teaming up with them in favor of people living with a health condition.
“Civil organizations are a key piece in the puzzle. Many of the health issues in Mexico are being resolved thanks to non-governmental organizations (NGOs)”.
For her part, Rina Gitler Weingarten, Founder and Director of soul foundationshared that this Foundation arose after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was from her fight against this disease that she knew that “this was my second chance at life and that I had to dedicate it to fighting so that all women Mexican women have access to breast reconstruction surgery.
For Rina Gitler, prevention education is essential and it is with this vision that she wrote “Mom’s bra.” It is a book that to date has been published in seven languages and was recently translated into Nahuatl. “With ‘El brasier de mamá’ we are educating; the world needs educated and healthy citizens, this book meets that goal.
Through Foundation Alma, 10,000 prostheses have been donated to women in 18 states of the Mexican Republic. Likewise, they collaborate with the National Health Laboratory where they carry out research work on the subject of hereditary cancer, in order to diagnose the disease and prevent it in time through laboratory tests.
For her part, Laura Vidales, Founder of Nobody Gives Up Here (ANSeR), explained that “civil organizations are the voice and vision of the patients. Our role is to detect their needs and work with them for their right to health”.
He stressed that one of the most important issues that have to do with patients is access to innovation, in addition to the impact on public policies, since through these “we can achieve many things hand in hand with the government.”
For Laura Vidales, early detection of the disease makes the difference between the life and death of the patient. “Even for family members, detection of a disease is less painful than late treatment. For the government, the same thing happens, treatment in early stages or prevention is much less expensive, compared to the cost of advanced treatment, so investment in prevention is essential.
Civil associations strengthen health systems
Andrés Castañeda, Coordinator of we, shared that patient associations play a very important role in the new health ecosystem that is being built. “Meeting in forums such as the Innovation Week, promoted by the AMIIF, provides a vision of joint efforts to offer patients access, because everyone deserves a better quality of life.”
At present, “the Cero Desabasto Collective and its organizations are convinced that collaboration is essential to face the situation in the country due to the shortage of medicines. The collective knows that, for each prescription not filled, for each medicine not delivered, there is a history of pain, despair and an evident systematic violation of the right to health”.
To conclude, Vincenzo D’Elia invited the audience to reflect: “All the players in the health sector must work collaboratively so that innovation promotes well-being for society. The sum of the actions and efforts of the pharmaceutical industry and civil society are essential if we want patients to have a better quality of life. Let’s make our companies have this sense of responsibility towards society”.
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