Cancer Financing in Latin America: Legislation, Science, and Civil Society
At Directorio Legislativo, we developed this research to provide rigorous evidence in support of more capable and informed legislative bodies.
In Latin America, the debate on how to finance access to innovative cancer treatments is here to stay. Governments, health systems, and the pharmaceutical industry are seeking tools to reconcile fiscal sustainability with timely access to care. However, comparative evidence shows that these tools do not emerge in isolation: they require regulatory frameworks that recognize, govern, and legitimize them. These frameworks are built by congresses.
For 18 years, Directorio Legislativo has worked to strengthen legislative institutions and democratic systems in Latin America through dialogue, transparency, and access to public information. This research reflects that mission: placing rigorous evidence at the service of stronger and better-informed legislatures.
This paper (available in Spanish), developed by our Consensus Building Program, presents a comparative analysis of four countries -Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay- to explore whether there is a correlation between the development of legislative frameworks in health financing and the adoption of innovative cancer funding mechanisms.
The findings show that where congresses have established specific regulatory frameworks, such as Chile’s Ricarte Soto Law or Uruguay’s National Resources Fund, health systems tend to achieve greater sophistication in implementing these instruments. The paper concludes that the legislative branch is not only a producer of laws, but also the legitimate institutional space where political consensus is built to sustain complex and long-term health policies.
Strengthening cancer financing in Latin America requires a strong synergy between sound legislative frameworks, scientific evidence, and active civil society engagement. At Directorio Legislativo, we aim to place this evidence at the service of decision-makers, helping translate technical debates into public policies with broad support and long-term sustainability.