Mexico, PAHO/WHO Sign 2026–2030 Health Cooperation Strategy

Mexico's Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization signed the Country Cooperation Strategy 2026–2030, outlining five priorities to strengthen the national health system, advance universal health coverage, and reduce health inequalities through 2030.  

Mexico's Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) signed the Country Cooperation Strategy with Mexico 2026–2030, an instrument that will guide joint priorities to strengthen the national health system over the next four years. The agreement aims to advance universal health coverage and reduce health inequalities, with emphasis on vulnerable populations.

Minister of Health David Kershenobich says the strategy "will guide our shared priorities in the years ahead." He adds that the framework aligns with the Sectoral Health Program, the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas, and PAHO's Strategic Plan. The goal, Kershenobich says, is to expand access to quality services, with particular focus on prevention, primary care, and responses to the country's main health challenges.  

Five Priorities Define the Strategy 

The strategy resulted from a participatory process that integrated national institutions, academia, and civil society. The document establishes five priorities.

The first priority is to reduce the disease burden associated with noncommunicable diseases, cancer, and mental health disorders. The second seeks to strengthen the stewardship role of the Ministry of Health and the coordination of institutions within the National Health System, with a focus on primary health care, to advance toward universal health coverage.

The third priority promotes comprehensive health care, with equitable access across the population's life course. The fourth addresses the effects of climate change on health, aiming to strengthen the resilience of populations and health systems, advance the control and elimination of communicable diseases, and ensure mitigation and timely response to health emergencies.

The fifth priority focuses on strengthening the national regulatory authority, promoting health self-sufficiency through regional collaboration networks in science, innovation, research, and the production of supplies, medicines, biologics, reagents, and medical devices.

Investment Road Map

The strategy also provides a road map that anticipates where public investment and regulatory adjustments are likely to concentrate over the coming years, particularly around strengthening the national regulatory authority and advancing health self-sufficiency in supplies and medicines.

The strategy's fifth priority, centered on regional collaboration networks for the production of medical supplies, biologics, and devices, is particularly relevant for manufacturing and distribution companies in the medical device and biologics sectors seeking to position themselves within the regional cooperation framework that PAHO/WHO is advancing across Latin America. 

Jose Moya, Representative, PAHO/WHO Mexico, presented the strategy and notes that Mexico already has 14 Collaborating Centers of high technical excellence, which strengthen the country's capacities and those of the region as a whole. The figure marks an increase from the 10 centers PAHO/WHO reported in Mexico in late 2024, reflecting continued expansion of the country's technical cooperation network.

The signing formalizes a framework PAHO/WHO and the Ministry of Health first presented in November 2025, when officials outlined the same five priorities under a proposed Cooperation Strategy for the region. With the agreement now signed, those priorities move from proposal to binding commitment through 2030.

Jarbas Barbosa, Director, PAHO, highlights Mexico's active participation in the governing bodies of the WHO World Health Assembly and the PAHO Executive Committee. Barbosa says the strategy is aligned with the organization's regional cooperation priorities.

The event was attended by heads of Ministry of Health divisions, representatives of national health institutes, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), IMSS-Bienestar, and Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), as well as members of academia, civil society, and the diplomatic corps.

The Country Cooperation Strategy 2026–2030 will guide joint actions between the Ministry of Health and PAHO/WHO throughout the period, with periodic reviews as the five priorities advance. Implementation will involve institutions across the National Health System, the existing Collaborating Centers, and ongoing regional technical cooperation networks.