The Minister of Health of Jujuy, Gustavo Bouhid, attended the final 2025 meeting of the Federal Health Council (COFESA) on Monday. The session was convened by Mario Lugones, Argentina’s Minister of Health, and included health officials from across the country. Participants reviewed key health policy results from this year and discussed objectives for the joint agenda for 2026.
During the meeting, it was reported that Argentina achieved a historic record in organ and tissue donation, with 906 procedures carried out—surpassing pre-pandemic figures such as the 883 recorded in 2019. Additionally, there were 1,242 tissue ablation processes completed, exceeding the 1,156 donations made in 2024.
On a national scale, transplant numbers also reached a record high. So far this year, 4,497 people received transplants to save or improve their quality of life. Of these procedures, 2,349 involved organs—including kidneys (1,674), livers (463), hearts (124), kidney-pancreas (36), lungs (22), liver-kidney (24), heart-kidney (3), pancreas only (2), and heart-lung (1)—and 2,148 were corneal transplants. There were also 291 pediatric transplants performed.
Carlos Soratti, head of the National Central Institute for Ablation and Implant Coordination (INCUCAI), presented the Federal Strategic Plan for Donation and Transplantation for 2026-2028. The plan aims to strengthen healthcare system responses to transplantation needs by improving waiting list registration times and increasing participation in organ procurement. Soratti announced his retirement from public service during the event and received a plaque from the Ministry of Health recognizing his career and leadership at INCUCAI.
Ministers also discussed efforts to improve vaccination coverage rates using a new Monitoring Dashboard for the National Vaccination Schedule. This tool displays dose usage rates by jurisdiction and will help track vaccine stock distribution to provinces while enhancing logistics systems.
In response to reports of a new flu strain emerging in Europe, national authorities stated: “It has not been proven that this variant presents greater clinical severity and at present it is not circulating in our country or region.” They further indicated that influenza vaccination for 2026 will begin next March.
Other topics addressed included guidelines for the National Quality Plan 2025-2030 aimed at strengthening oversight roles through information systems and ongoing training strategies focused on patient safety.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Argentina presented its report “Demographic Dynamics and Implications for the Health Sector.” The report analyzes how demographic trends require adaptations within healthcare based on scientific evidence.
Finally, representatives from the Antimicrobial Service at Malbrán’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases shared details about WHONET-Argentina’s Antimicrobial Resistance Analysis Dashboard—the first interactive national platform designed to rapidly analyze bacterial data criteria to tackle infectious diseases caused by resistant pathogens.
After visiting Malbrán Institute facilities during these activities, Bouhid expressed appreciation: “to the teams at one of our most prestigious public institutions in biological safety with more than 100 years’ history; a national and regional reference point in infectious disease research; diagnostic standards; surveillance; laboratory quality assurance; an entity training human resources; and key player in international technical cooperation.”
