increasingly used to improve preventive and predictive medicine. Entrepreneurs, researchers, and health care providers will have more incentives to break silos and find solutions to close the gaps in access for the most vulnerable populations. • Service delivery platforms. Pressures on health expenditures will continue to rise, driven by population growth, aging, technological innovations, and a greater need for continuity of care. Efforts to reach a balance between accessibility, care quality, and fiscal sustainability will be pursued. The region will see the delivery platforms for health and social care services transformed, to create a mix that best serves the evolving needs for continuous care and acute care, and mitigates the chronic shortfall in human resources. • More value for money. Amid growing concerns about inefficiencies and unsustainable expenditures, a few governments and other players are developing and implementing new purchase and payment strategies. The aims are to improve service access and quality, as well as provider productivity, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes. This trend will strengthen over the coming decade. • Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Total investments in this area are still insufficient. The good news is that the frequent episodes over the past few years—and the resulting health and economic consequences—seem to finally be translating into a quest for long-term solutions.
Health authorities alone cannot meet the challenge of furthering healthy aging in Latin America and the Caribbean; it will require a multisector approach that involves the commitment, coordination, and actions of many actors. Hector Salazar is Manager of the Social Sector for the Inter-American Development Bank.