South American Institute of Government in Health

All of the 12 independent nations of South America are members of the South American Council of Health and, therefore, are part of ISAGS. • • • • • • • • • • • • ==History==

South American Health Council The South American Council of Health (CSS), created on December 16, 2008, also known as Unasur-Health, is a permanent council composed of Ministers from member countries of UNASUR. This body was created in order to constitute a space of integration concerning health, incorporating the efforts and improvements from other mechanisms of regional integration, such as MERCOSUR, Organismo Andino de Salud (ORAS-CONHU)and ACTO, to promote common policies and coordinated activities among member countries. It is also a consultation and consensus body concerning health, which intends to delve deeply into relevant themes and strengthen public policies aimed at improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the South American continent. The council aims to strengthen, in the constitution of a South American political institution with expertise in sanitary issues, the development of solutions to challenges that go beyond national borders, developing values and mutual interests among the neighboring countries, thus facilitating the interaction of health authorities of the Member States through the sharing of knowledge and technology in the region. In November 2009, through Resolution 05/2009, the South American Council of Health decided to create ISAGS. Rio de Janeiro would have its Headquarters. The Human Resources Technical Group was in charge of elaborating of the institute's project. According to Paulo Buss, who envioned the institute, it was created to "be the a space for permanent analysis of the impact of health policies, including the efficiency of implemented attention models (...) it establish a dialog with other experiences accumulated by other regional centres (like ILPES, CELADE and others) and it should interact with public health and related fields postgrad schools. ISAGS was opened on 25 July 2011 with the presence of the then UNASUR General Secretary María Emma Mejía, the then Pro-Tempore President of the South American Health Council Jorge Venegas, of the Brazilian Minister of Health Alexandre Padilha, of the former Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations Celso Amorim and Health Ministries representants of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay e Venezuela. Achievements Since its creation, ISAGS has organized 6 workshops and supported meetings that resulted in publications and political coordinations in international fora. The workshops were: • Health Systems in South America • Communication in Health • Sanitary Surveillance Systems in South America • Health Surveillance • Global Health and Health Diplomacy • Governance in Health, Environment and Sustainable Development in an Intersectorial Context The workshops are broadcast live through the Internet in Portuguese, Spanish and English. Then, they are converted into open videoclasses. ==Basic functions==

Management and production of knowledge Organize and produce knowledge on public health and governance of the health sector, taking in only established results and carrying out researches, generating innovation in health policies and health governance to produce new evidences. Systematize, organize and disseminate technical and scientific information on regional and global health, with the overarching goal of providing support to the process of decision-making. Develop leadership in management Respond to needs regarding the training of leaders to manage health systems, services, organizations and programs. Organize workshops between managers and specialists, where actual experiences of innovations in management are shared. Technical support Provide technical support to national health systems and institutions using new methodologies that promote knowledge transfer and facilitate the formulation of new policies for managing health institutions and systems of the member countries. Develop models to evaluate not only the products, but also the causes and effects of cooperation. Support the development of external policies to be shared by UNASUR members. ==Administrative structure==

ISAGS is a public intergovernmental entity that is part of the UNASUR's South American Health Council. It is formed by the executive board and the Directive and Consultative Councils. The executive board is responsible for administering ISAGS according to the goals, functions, policies, plans, programs and projects established and approved by the Directive Council. The Directive Council is one of ISAGS's permanent units and carries out directive functions, guided by the priorities established at the South American Health Council. It is formed by delegates assigned by the Health Ministers of member countries and is responsible for defining institutional policies. The Consultative Council, responsible for producing recommendations regarding the planning, management, implementation and evaluation of ISAGS's programs, is formed by: • Senior Coordinators of UNASUR-Salud's technical groups; • Coordinators of UNASUR's Networks of Structuring Institutions; • Specialists in critical areas of knowledge in health ==External links==