The race to host the future begins State Public Health Agency (AESAP)an organization that will be responsible for monitoring, evaluating and responding to any threat to the health of the population, such as an epidemic, the arrival of a virus or any non-communicable disease. Today, Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the agreement, which begins the procedures for determining it In which autonomous region will the actual headquarters be located? For the agency, which will become the reference for national coordination in confronting health crises.
According to the Minister of Health, Mónica García, in October, there are “Many autonomous communities” are interested In hosting the new agency, though, it was more important to Garcia that it be well organized than its location. At the moment, there is no candidate with the largest number of votes to be selected, although there are already communities, such as Madrid or Aragon, that have expressed several times their interest in hosting the headquarters.
Place selection procedures It will begin with the publication of evaluation criteria at the Bank of Englandwhich should be prepared by a committee of the Ministry of Regional Policy. These standards will be based on the principles of transparency, efficiency, regional structure, and functional suitability, and, according to the executive authority, “will be applied objectively and competitively.” There are also no names of potential directors for this new government public health agency, although the name was what it was at the time Fernando SimonDirector of the Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), known for his management during the pandemic, which sparked the discontent of opposition parties.
In any case, they will be processed urgently with the aim of reducing deadlines and ensuring that the AESAP program runs “within the deadlines pledged by the government”, although this will depend on the administration run by Ángel Víctor Torres. The government is defending that the agency — which took more than one attempt in Congress to create — is responsive to what has been learned during the Covid pandemic and to the recommendations of international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and the European Commission.
According to the text of the law, approval of the statute for the state public health agency is also pending approval. The project specifies a period of six months from the date of its entry into force (i.e. January 30, 2026) to approve the royal order that will specify the agencies, centers and services of the state’s public administration that will be integrated into the agency. The statute will also determine the inclusion of representatives of the autonomous regions in the Governing Council, and will determine the organizational structure, as well as administrative bodies and executive bodies.
Congress gave the green light to the law creating AESAP on June 19. The rule, drawn up by the government, went ahead on its second attempt, after the People’s Party and Junts dropped the initiative in March in a last-minute change. The text was approved by 19 votes 18 against Vox, Junts and PPWho again opposed the law, but it was approved when it was voted on within the House Health Committee, where the groups’ representation varies.
Therefore the agency will be responsible for Monitoring the health status of the population, problems and risks faced, to anticipate potential threats. This will also be done by incorporating a concept One health (One Health), which links citizens’ health, environmental and animal health, and in this sense, will work to adapt the health system to the risks of climate change. Likewise, the organization will improve Coordination and cooperation with the scientific communityAs well as with industry, departments and institutions to monitor different response strategies; The “determinants” that most influence health will be assessed.
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