The more than two decades of experience of Fundación Misión Salud in seeking access to health technologies (including medicines) necessary for the life, health and well-being of the human family, have been possible thanks to institutions and citizens who have built trust, managed changes, qualified debates, undertaken legal actions, generated new knowledge and contributed to the construction of norms and provisions that bring the population closer to the realization of their fundamental right to health.

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Among the founding and driving institutions of Misión Salud are the Archdiocese of Bogota, the Colombian Episcopal Conference – CEC, the Secretariat of Social Pastoral for Health in Latin America, the Camillian Center for Humanization and Pastoral Health, the Center for Research and Popular Education of the Society of Jesus – CINEP, the Colombian Medical Federation – FMC and the Ifarma Foundation.

Also, the entities that make up the [National] Committee of Oversight and Cooperation in Health – CVCS, which already has more than a decade of experience, have been decisive in multiple achievements of Misión Salud: the CEC, the Center of Information on Medicines of the National University of Colombia – CIMUN, the Colombian Medical Federation, the Observatory of Medicines of the Medical Federation – ObServamed and the Ifarma Foundation.

We present this column to our readers in memory of three citizens who, among their many exemplary achievements, bequeathed to Mission Salud knowledge and suitable actions for the good of the human family.

Germán Holguín-Zamorano

(Cali, April 25, 1936 – Bogotá, December 13, 2019).

With a remarkable career in the private sector, he was not only an outstanding entrepreneur in the real estate sector, but he was also deeply committed to initiatives for the good of health and education of the Colombian society, among them the creation and consolidation of the Icesi University for the formation of human talent in the southwest of Colombia.

Lawyer and economist from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Master in Business Administration from Universidad del Valle, he also contributed to the strengthening of the public sector, contributing as a director of, among other entities, Ecopetrol.

On the basis of his prestige and his singular capacity for work, and with the support of the institutions mentioned at the beginning of this column, he conceived Fundación Misión Salud, which he consolidated as a body that contributes with social, political, legal and scientific actions to realize in Colombia the fundamental right to health of its population and, through actions of global scope, for the good of life and well-being of the entire human family.

His intellectual lucidity, his knowledge of Colombian society, his ability to generate approaches between individuals and organizations, his commitment as a builder of trust and his generosity as a businessman, citizen and mentor characterized him as an exemplary leader in the fields of health, education and business life, for whom his voice of authority continues to guide and encourage us.

You can consult The Living Legacy of Germán Holguín-Zamorano, published in the Mision Salud Newsletter, at this link.

Joan Rovira-Forns

(Barcelona, August 21, 1947- Barcelona, July 31, 2022)

An essential author in the field of health economics, he has been generating new knowledge since 1975, the year in which he obtained his degree in economics, a field in which he received his doctorate in 1982.

His two-decade-long relationship with Misión Salud was dynamic and fruitful with research, events, consultancies and publications, and with social and political impact of national, regional and global scope.

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Professor Emeritus of the University of Barcelona, his mastery of Spanish, Catatán, English, German and French not only led to the progressive growth of his extensive academic networks, but also to the creation of close ties of friendship due to his generosity as a teacher, his civic convictions, his talent with voice and guitar, and his sporting dynamism.

His scientific work, of high impact and repercussion, of notorious originality and high socioeconomic and political relevance, is vital and dynamic, communicating diverse disciplines and objects of study, and uniting the efforts and affections of researchers from several continents who remember his laughter and brilliance.

Elkin Fernando Botero Álvarez

(El Retiro [Colombia] November 21, 1968 – El Retiro [Colombia] July 8, 2023).

After his studies at the Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Marinilla and at the National Major Seminary of Christ the Priest in La Ceja, “he studied Biblical Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, obtaining a Licentiate (1992-1994).

He was ordained priest on July 1, 1993 in Rome, in the chapel of the International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae, by imposition of hands of Bishop Flavio Calle Zapata, then bishop of Sonsón – Rionegro”.

Until 2003 he fulfilled various pastoral responsibilities in the Department of Antioquia, after which in Bogota he served in the Apostolic Nunciature until 2012, the year in which Pope Benedict XVI appointed him auxiliary bishop of Medellin, thus beginning his career in the Episcopal Conference of Colombia of which he was Secretary General from 2016 to 2021. In 2022 he was appointed by Pope Francis as Bishop of Santa Rosa de Osos.

Since 2016 he was a director of Misión Salud, bequeathing us his advice and guidance, so timely in decision-making and in the optimization of resources and the formal registration of the Foundation’s achievements.

With the support of the members of the Founders’ Council, the Board of Directors and the nearby instances, with foundations in love, faith and hope, and as part of the legacy of Germán Holguín-Zamorano, Joan Rovira-Forns and Monsignor Elkin Fernando Álvarez-Botero, the Mision Salud Foundation will consolidate ongoing achievements in favor of life, health and well-being of the population in Colombia and the human family.

You can consult the Profile of Monsignor Elkin Alvarez, published by the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, in this link.

Building trust to manage changes in the health system and thus move towards health autonomy