El Dr. José Carlos Guisado, re-elected President of the IHCO

The institution’s global board was also renewed, with the election of Vice-Presidents Eudes Aquino, of Unimed do Brazil, and Toshinori Ozeki, of Hew Coop Japan, along with the board members Ricardo López, of the Argentinian Federation of Solidarity Health Entities, Vanessa Hammond, of the Health Care Co-operatives Federation of Canada, and Jagdev Singh Deo, of Medical Co-operatives of Malaysia.

At the assembly, Dr Guisado reported on the activities undertaken since the previous meeting in Mexico, emphasising the conferences staged in Cancun, Mexico, in November 2011, and in Levis, Canada, in October 2012, celebrating the success of the two gatherings, the high level of participation and the richness of the content addressed.

The delegates agreed that IHCO should collaborate in organising the 2014 International Co-operative Summit to be staged in Québec in the coming October. On this occasion the summit will address issues connected with access to health care and health services by means of co-operative models.

It was also agreed to lend support to the generation of the study Health Co-operatives of the World, an international effort which will be undertaken by a Canadian team in collaboration with the IHCO.

Jagdev Singh Deo, President of the KDM doctors’ co-operative in Malaysia, explained the plan developed in his Asian country to set up more than a thousand co-operative pharmacies over the next 5 years. He likewise reported on the work performed and the difficulties encountered in building a co-operative hospital, and of the investments made in the only Malaysian company engaged in stem cell research.

Toshinori Ozeki presented the project being implemented at co-operative health centres in Japan, with the aim of adapting the health provision for elderly people in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines. The project is based on three operational strands: training of professionals, improved management systems and adaptation of the physical environment.

The representative of the Health Care Co-operatives Federation of Canada, Jean-Pierre Girard, explained to the assembly delegates that the current priorities of the organisation are home care, access to culturally appropriate services, and support for disabled people in accessing the labour market.

Eudes Aquino, President of Unimed in Brazil, revealed the work undertaken by the Quality Innovation Centre which the Brazilian co-operative group has set up.