LAC Digital Health Network

Towards collaboration, dialogue, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences among the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to advance the digital transformation in regional health

What is RACSEL?

The Latin American and Caribbean digital health network, hereinafter referred to as RACSEL, is an initiative of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) supported by the Inter-American Development Bank. It is established as a systematic horizontal technical cooperation mechanism through which exchanges are promoted, multiplied, strengthened, and energized, aimed at developing, disseminating, and implementing best practices in digital health to support institutional development processes and their progress in the region.

 

MISSION

 

To promote collaborative work and cooperation in the field of digital health, so that the good practices and results achieved in one country can be leveraged by others, resulting in increased efficiency and effectiveness. This, in turn, leads to an improvement in the quality of healthcare services and overall social growth and well-being.

 

 

VISION

To be one of the main global networks of cooperation in electronic and digital health, and a reference in the dissemination, promotion, and adoption of standards, through dialogue, coordination, and the exchange of knowledge and experience

News

April 12th, 2022

 

Panama, Uruguay, El Salvador and Colombia: The validation of digital vaccination certificates in the countries of the European Union

 

 

 

These are the only four Latin American countries to obtain this validation. The digital certificate certifies that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has recovered from the disease or has a negative test for the virus, being a crucial tool for transit between borders in the European Union – and in the world – today.

 

Both Uruguay and El Salvador are part of the LACPass project, while Panama shared its experience within the framework of the Regional Public Good project "Digital transformation in health to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean" last November. Meanwhile, in Colombia, the measure came into force on April 2, after being accepted by the European Commission (EC), based in Brussels, Belgium.

 

LACPass is a multi-country initiative within the framework of RACSEL (American Network for Cooperation on Electronic Health) and sponsored by the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), which aims to create bridges towards health care for all people in the region. from Latin America and the Caribbean. Participating in this project: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay.

 

The digital transformation in health is key for this type of process, where the strengthening of capacities and collaborative work has been vital, making it possible to exchange data between countries in a secure way.

 

"With more than 1,700 million certificates issued to date, our work to facilitate safe travel continues", declared the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, who indicated that with Colombia and Malaysia -accepted on a par with Colombia- they are already 64 the countries and territories connected to the European Union system.

 

It is expected that in May of this year the LACPass team will be able to demonstrate the interoperability of more countries in the region so that, like Colombia, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay, they will be accepted by the European Commission.