North American Leaders’ Summit Talks Health

During the IV North American Leaders’ Summit held in Nov. 18, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with his counterparts US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss, among other matters, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination and plans to tackle other health emergencies.

 At the trilateral meeting, the three country leaders discused health matters such as the creation of a mechanism for the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, according to Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell. “Mexico will also work in information exchange and supply chain continuity for diagnosis, treatment and epidemiological response against the ongoing pandemic.”

The COVID-19 vaccine did take a protagonist role during the meeting. The leaders reaffirmed their vision of a world safe and secure from health threats posed by infectious diseases, shared an official communicate from the White House. “Mexico and Canada are committing to pay forward vaccine loans from the US as vaccine donations to Latin America and the Caribbean to increase vaccination coverage,” states the communicate.

Attention to future pandemics was also brought up. Leaders agreed to upgrade the North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza (NAPAPI) to face future health threats. To achieve a successful response, medical supply chain continuity was also discussed. Leaders reiterated their pledge to shore up their supply chains and explore ways to make the components of vaccines and other public health supplies in North America.

The three countries also discussed their commitment to COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), which aims to improve vaccine distribution globally. Leaders also brought up counterfeit medicines and medical supplies and vowed to invest in the health workforce to combat the problem. Drug counterfeiting costs about 1 million lives per year and represents US$200 billion annual loses for the global pharmaceutical industry.

On a last note, López Obrador, Trudeau and Biden addressed the US overdose epidemic and its related harms and pledged to continue the North American Drug Dialogue (NADD) with updated and strategic objectives that encompass a comprehensive approach in addressing the global illegal drug environment and its serious consequences.

Overall, leaders agreed on the development of a renewed vision for joint management of the border applying lessons learned from the pandemic.