The approval of the law for its creation is imminent and communities such as Aragón, Andalucía or Galicia -which have applied to host the organization- indicate that they are still unaware of the requirements they need
The countdown begins for the creation of the State Public Health Agency (AESAP). The Government gave the green light this Tuesday to the Regulatory Annual Planwhich contains all the standards that it plans to approve throughout 2023, a total of 117 initiatives: 3 organic laws, 33 ordinary laws and 81 royal decrees. One of them will be the approval of the regulations for the expected start-up of the AESAP which, according to the Ministry of Health, will arrive “shortly”. Meanwhile, the communities that have applied to host the venue, like Aragon, Andalusia or Galiciaamong others, finalize their candidacies and They are waiting impatiently to know the requirements.
As stated in Regulatory Annual Planthe purpose of the regulation is to create the State Public Health Agency provided for in article 47 of Law 33/2011, of October 4, General Public Health, in accordance with the provisions in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. It will be a state public body attached to the Ministry of Health that exercises the powers of public health surveillance, analysis and study, evaluation of public policies, technical advice, proposal of measures to the health authorities and preparation and coordination of response to health emergency situations such as the one experienced with the coronavirus.
With information handled by El Periódico de España, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the initiative could imminently reach the Council of Ministers. Some sanitary sources point to February 7which is when, also, the elimination of masks on public transport will go, but Health, consulted by this newspaper, does not reveal if that is the day chosen by the head of the department, Carolina Darias, PSOE candidate for mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the local elections next May 2023. Of course, this department admits to this newspaper that the law will go “shortly” to the Council of Ministers.
The communities, expectant
Meanwhile, the autonomous communities that are fighting to host the headquarters of the future organization, a historic claim by public health experts, are finalizing their candidacies and are waiting to find out What requirements will Health ask for. The Region of MurciaGalicia, Aragon, Andalusia, Valencian Community, Asturias, Castilla y León or Extremadura compete to house the organism. Some communities complain that the Ministry of Health has not yet told them what requirements must be met. And, public health experts, that, in the absence of approval of the law creating this entity, the deadlines are lengthening and it will not be a reality until, at the earliest, the spring of this 2023.
For now, they are not known nor the statutes of the agency, nor the competitions, nor the aforementioned requirements. The only conditions that Health has disclosed to host this agency are three: to be a healthy city, that is to say, it promotes healthy lifestyle habits; have study centers related to public health and that promotes research. Among the names that have sounded the most to be its director, that of Director of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center (CCAES), Fernando Simon.
The Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, has shown his support for Granada as the headquarters of the future organization
“We don’t know them yet. Here we are very advanced, but waiting to know those requirements”, they point out to this newspaper from the Department of Health of Aragon, which has opted for Zaragoza to host the future body. From Andalusia, they speak in the same direction and explain that “They haven’t communicated anything yet”. This community is committed to Grenade as the ideal location. The Andalusian president himself, Juanma Moreno, showed his support for the city just a few days ago and announced the start a working group to lead all actions that are necessary to “to get this venue to come to Granada”.
A group that is not yet formed, explains Joan Carlos Marchprofessor at the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP) who has been working actively for a long time so that the agency is located in Grenada. Defend that the city it offers key elements: it has a Technological Park specialized in Health and Biosanitary Technology; Your University is in the top international ranking positions for his research and teaching work in health and artificial intelligence or is it center collaborator of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Galicia, “a firm candidate”
From the Ministry of Health de Galicia, indicate to El Periódico de España that the community will present “a firm candidacy” to house the State Public Health Agency. “However, we are waiting to know what the requirements and conditions will be. What should your location have? to select the best possible option,” they add.
The Council of Ministers approved in August the bill for the creation of the State Public Health Agency (AESAP), which will be organically attached to the Ministry of Health, through the Secretary of State for Health, although it will have public legal personality differentiated, own patrimony and treasury, as well as management autonomy. It was planned that this second round occurred before the end of 2022but in the end it was not like that and 2023 will be the year in which this body becomes a reality.