Webinar Series on Primary Health Care: advancing a regional technical agenda in 2025

Washington, D.C., 21 January 2026 - In 2025, the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO) Webinar Series on Primary Health Care consolidated its role as a technical cooperation platform to advance a regional agenda around strategic primary health care (PHC) products. The virtual series brought together policymakers, health workers, technical teams, and stakeholders to share evidence, foster dialogue, and advance technical cooperation on key dimensions of health systems strengthening.

The series opened with the launch of the regional report Implementation of the Essential Public Health Functions in the Americas: Evaluation and Strengthening of Capacities. The seminar explored how the essential public health functions complement PHC and strengthen health systems' capacity to respond effectively to population needs.

Building on regional evidence, the webinar Progress Toward Universal Health in the Americas showcased achievements and persistent gaps regarding unmet health care needs, coverage challenges, and financial protection. The discussion examined implications for policies aimed at reducing inequities and advancing health systems grounded in PHC principles.

Capacity-building was another central component, marked by the launch of the Itinerario Formativo en Atención Primaria de Salud (Primary Health Care Learning Pathway), a proposal hosted on PAHO's Virtual Campus for Public Health that brings together educational resources for health teams, managers, and policy-makers. The course Introducción a la APS en el siglo XXI: principios e implementación (Introduction to PHC in the 21st Century: Principles and Implementation) was also presented as an entry point to the learning pathway.

Discussions also incorporated analysis of PHC policies and organizational models. In this context, the report Primary health care policies and organization in South American countries was presented, examining national experiences and putting forward recommendations to strengthen PHC organization, stewardship, and health system management.

This work was complemented by the update of technical frameworks to support implementation, with the launch of Integrated health service delivery networks: Updated conceptual and operational framework for the Region of the Americas, a document that brings together recent lessons learned and provides technical guidance from a people-centered, territorial approach.

Positioning PHC within the universal health and financial protection agenda marked the final stage of the series. As part of the celebration of Universal Health Day, a webinar was held focusing on the impact of out-of-pocket expenditure and financial protection, accompanied by the presentation of the fact sheet Financing of health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: main trends as of 2023.

This trajectory was also reflected in inter-institutional milestones that express strategic alliances and a shared vision for transforming health systems.

No Time to Wait: Resilience as a Cornerstone for Primary Health Care across Latin America and the Caribbean, developed within the framework of the World Bank-PAHO Lancet Americas Commission on Primary Health Care and Resilience, positions PHC as a structural component for strengthening the resilience of health systems in the face of health, social, and economic crises.

Along the same lines, the Technical consensus to strengthen Integrated Health Service Delivery Networks, jointly developed by PAHO, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, establishes a common foundation to guide policies and reforms aimed at service integration, improved governance, and the strengthening of PHC-based models of care.

In 2025, the Primary Health Care Webinar Series brought together more than 7,000 participants from across the Region, including policy-makers, technical teams, managers, health professionals, and academic stakeholders, consolidating its role as a regional space for exchange and technical articulation around PHC.