Colombian physician and specialist in international health Juan Eduardo Guerrero says that society should act preventively, first. “We cannot continue to repair the damage from violence, alcoholism, disasters, solely through approaches of humanitarian assistance,” he says. “We need to generate proposals on primary prevention.”

Former advisor to the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in countries such as Ecuador, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, and El Salvador, Guerrero points out that the focus of health needs to shift. “Currently health is so that people don’t die. We should be working so people can live.” He considers that this involves international actions for the purpose of “generating a different primary prevention pact.”