Raquel Peña leads regional dialogue in Santo Domingo to strengthen resilient health systems
The Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, inaugurated in Santo Domingo the Regional Policy Dialogue: Building resilient health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. This event, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), brings together health and finance authorities and experts from 25 nations with the goal of designing strategies to safeguard the operational capacity of health services in the face of disasters and climate emergencies.
During her speech, the Vice President highlighted the commitment of the Dominican Government, led by President Luis Abinader, to prioritize health as a fundamental pillar of national development. Peña, who chairs the Health Cabinet, emphasized that health resilience depends on proactive planning and constant institutional strengthening.
Because prevention is also a way of building resilience.
Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Dominican Republic
Strategic approach to climate challenges
The Minister of Public Health, Víctor Atallah, emphasized that the true strength of a healthcare system is demonstrated when it manages to protect life even under extraordinary conditions. According to Atallah, resilience should not be the result of improvisation, but rather the result of well-structured risk management and rigorous technical preparation.
- Early identification of risks and threats.
- Protection of critical infrastructure and medical supplies.
- Staff training for service continuity.
- Integration of resilience into budget planning.
For his part, Javier Guzmán, representative of the IDB, ratified the organization’s support through technical assistance and financing, seeking to ensure that these resilience plans translate into effective operational services during critical moments. The meeting, which is being held from September 9 to 11, addresses growing challenges such as floods, extreme heat waves, droughts, and the spread of vector-borne diseases.
The event was attended by key figures such as Dr. Julio Landron, director of the National Health Service; Bernardino Vitoy, representative of the Pan American Health Organization; as well as various ministers and directors of the health sector from across the region, reaffirming the Dominican commitment to international cooperation to ensure more equitable health systems prepared for the future.
