2024-08-18 03:18:59
The National Health Superintendency has issued a new external circular with the aim of ensuring access, quality and comprehensiveness in the provision of Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (VTP) services in Colombia.
This measure covers women, girls, adolescents and pregnant people, including trans men and non-binary people.as part of an ongoing effort to protect the rights of users of the General Health Social Security System and improve the quality of services throughout the country.
The guidelines set out in the circular seek to eliminate the barriers that have historically hindered access to IVE, ensuring that services are provided at all levels of care and at any stage of pregnancy. “It is essential to move forward with regulations such as this one, which guarantee the fundamental right to health for all people, and support processes that drive the social transformation necessary for these rights to become effective,” said Luis Carlos Leal Angarita, National Superintendent of Health, during the signing of the circular. Women’s groups from Bogotá participated in the event, with virtual connection from Antioquia, Atlántico, Boyacá and Nariño.
You may be interested in: Iris Marín Ortiz, elected as the first female Ombudsman in Colombia
The issuance of this circular responds to the identification of multiple violations of the right to health of women and pregnant people in relation to comprehensive IVE care. An analysis of 22,150 Petitions, Complaints, Claims and Reports (PQRD) received between 2017 and April 2024 revealed that in 63% of cases there were restrictions in access to health services, such as unjustified denials and delays. In addition, other problems were identified, such as lack of access to complementary technologies and services, deficiencies in the effectiveness of care, and insufficient human and physical resources.
External Circular 2024150000000009-5 was prepared by an interdisciplinary team of the Superintendency, with the collaboration of social organizations, health service providers and other relevant actors. This participation made it possible to address the concerns of health system users and to enrich the guidelines issued.
Laura Castro González, representative of the Roundtable for Women’s Life and Health, stressed the importance of the actors in the health system implement the instructions of the circular, not only to comply with the Causa Justa ruling, but also to move towards the social decriminalization of abortion in Colombia.
You can read: Magistrates on alert: in raids they found a model with plans of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá