What is a TASK FORCE?

Our Task Forces are generally composed of Latin American disease experts intended to advance knowledge on epidemiology, availability of, and access to treatment and prevention strategies. Members of the task force communicate, educate and advocate for policy recommendations through meetings with Ministries of Health, regulatory agencies and other relevant public health authorities. These recommendations for public health authorities serve as an invaluable tool for guiding health professionals and private industry, while also serving to educate and build awareness in the public at large. The outcome of our Task Force is a strategic plan to develop, disseminate and educate about recommendations regarding specific health topic.

 

As part of its education initiatives, AHF creates Disease-Specific Task Forces for the purpose of advancing key vaccination and health education topics in Latin America. Specifically, the establishment of Disease-Specific Task Forces aims to promote awareness and increase medical knowledge in the areas of the disease, advance knowledge of the prevalence and burden of the disease and advocate for more effective programs and policies towards increasing prevention and control strategies regarding the disease.

AHF has convened a Task Force in each of these disease areas; these were comprised of clinicians from the Latin American region who specialize in diagnosing and treating each of the targeted diseases. The Disease Task Force Initiative will constitute a series of meetings aimed at multiple audiences in Latin America. The objectives of the Disease Task Force Initiative will be to:

Prepare and discuss the burden of the disease in Latin America and to review the current prevention and control strategies relevant to the disease in Latin American countries.

Define and prepare an action plan for a set time period on the disease regarding prevention and control policies in Latin America, and

Prepare and evaluate recommendations to be presented to the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) 2015 Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting on Vaccine-preventable Diseases, if relevant.

 The Disease-Specific Task Force’s formulation of recommendations for public health authorities in the Region serve as an invaluable tool for guiding health professionals and private industry, while also serving to educate and build awareness among the public at large.

Rare Diseases

TASKFORCE_RD

Access Pathways, Challenges, and Opportunities for Rare Disease Treatments in Latin America

In 2023, the Americas Health Foundation conducted a multi-country Task Force on the access pathways, challenges, and opportunities for rare disease treatments in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Peru. The task force aimed to develop recommendations and innovative approaches to improve and facilitate access to rare disease treatments for patients in Latin America.

In a series of country-level meetings moderated by AHF, a total of 35 key opinion leaders including geneticists, patient organization representatives, and other relevant stakeholders convened. Findings were compiled into country-level reports containing deep insights into the rare disease market in each of the selected Latin American countries. Stay tuned for the full report.

Thank you to Amicus Therapeutics for an unrestricted grant to support this project, which was conducted independently by AHF, avoiding perception bias.