Progress in medicine and food surveillance in Colombia

Colombia’s Secretariat of Transparency and ACTUE-Colombia, financed by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP, collaborated with the Institute for the Monitoring of Medicines and Foods (INVIMA), a project partner, in preparing a Map of Corruption Risks and an Anti-Corruption and Citizen Assistance Plan. In addition, the two institutions worked together to define a permanent accountability strategy for preparation of the National Therapeutic Formulary, a tool that will make accurate information about prices and proper use of medicines available to citizens.

An event was held in the Colombian capital on 16th February for the INVIMA accountability hearing for the 2015 period. The country’s Secretary of Transparency analysed the importance of INVIMA in the fight against corruption, and the Director of INVIMA led the accountability exercise and described the challenges facing the organisation in strengthening competitiveness, and the progress made in inspection, surveillance and control, transparency, and the fight against corruption.

The event was also attended by representatives of civil society organisations, such as Transparency for Colombia, and private-sector organisations, such as the Colombian Association of Industrialists (ANDI), as well as other stakeholders, such as the Salvadoran Regulatory Agency, the National Federation of Municipalities and the Pan American Health Organization, who stressed the challenges facing the INVIMA in the fight against illegality and smuggling of medicines and their implications for the fundamental right of public health.

The event was chaired by senior representatives of the Colombian government, such as Javier Guzmán Cruz, Director of INVIMA; Liliana Caballero, Director of the Administrative Department of Public Service (DAFP); Camilo Alberto Enciso, Colombia’s Secretary of Transparency; and Ana Paula Zacarias, European Union Ambassador to Colombia.