The Patients Colombia movement traveled to Washington DC, United States, to expose the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in the health system in Colombia, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The association presented to the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (Redesca) a technical report that documents with evidence the harsh situation that affects millions of people in the country, especially after the documented deaths of little Kevin Acosta, a minor who died while awaiting treatment for hemophilia, as well as that of Cecilia Quintero, who died in a medicine dispensary in Norte de Santander.
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The movement confirmed that they had to go abroad to seek international solutions in the face of what it calls a “silent genocide” driven by political decisions of the Petro Government, by an “ideological force.”
The delegation was led by Denis Silva, Linda Castro and Néstor Álvarez, who arrived with a document of more than 80 pages that, according to the organization, exposes the “humanitarian crisis induced by the national government.”
At the meeting they detailed the alleged responsibilities of the State regarding fundamental rights such as health, life and dignity, based on international treaties such as the Protocol of San Salvador.
“The system’s debt went from 13 billion to more than 32 billion, there are more than 400 medications out of supply, more than 40 hospitals have closed and health protections have skyrocketed by 92%. Chronic patients and doctors are being sacrificed“, they stated from the organization, which stated that Gustavo Petro’s administration “prefers to destroy the system rather than finance it.”
“This crisis is not technical, but a political decision that is costing Colombian lives. Let the world know: in Colombia, the right to health has become a survival lottery,” were the words of Denis Silva during his intervention before the IACHR.
The delegates from Patients Colombia requested, among other requests, collective precautionary measures for patients with orphan, chronic and high-cost diseases, as well as the visit of a special rapporteur to verify the hospital and prison situation in the country.
The report presented also detailed possible repeated non-compliance by the national government with orders from the Constitutional Court, such as order 007 of 2025, which declared the Capitation Payment Unit (UPC) insufficient and ordered a readjustment that has not been carried out.
In fact, an incident of contempt was included against the Minister of Health, Guillermo Jaramillo, for the lack of transfer of 819,000 million pesos, intended to settle previous debts.
Despite the request for a declaration of an Unconstitutional State of Affairs, supported by the Ombudsman’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, the Court denied the request in August 2025, leaving patients in a defenseless situation.
“We turn to the Inter-American System because the internal route is exhausted. (…) What Colombia is experiencing is an international responsibility of the State by omission: it has the resources and the court order, but it has decided to use health as a currency for political pressure. The IACHR must act because Colombian patients no longer have anyone to turn to within their own country“Castro said in his statement.
The report added figures that illustrate the dimension of the crisis: Health system debt grew from $13 trillion in 2022 to more than $32 trillion in 2026, with negative equity of -$15.8 trillion. They pointed out that the shortage of medicines affects patients with diabetes, HIV, cancer, orphan diseases and mental health disorders, which went from less than 100 types of drugs in 2022 to more than 400 in 2026.
According to the report, over the past two years, incidents of contempt grew by 144% and Petitions, Complaints and Claims (PQR) increased by 41%, from 1.2 million in 2022 to 1.7 million in 2025.
In addition, it was mentioned that at least 12,000 health professionals have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced, while 80% of health personnel work under contracts without stability or benefits.
According to the complaint, more than 5.5 million patients with diabetes, 750,000 in active cancer treatment, 190,000 with HIV, 150,000 on dialysis, 100,000 with orphan diseases and between 25,000 and 30,000 transplant recipients face interruptions in their treatments.
“For a patient with a rare disease or a transplant, stopping treatment is not an administrative procedure, it is a death sentence. We are victims of an abuse of power that UN Resolution 40/34 recognizes as a violation of human rights. We come to the IACHR to say that in Colombia people die due to omission of the State, not because of the disease.“warned Néstor Álvarez, spokesperson for High Cost Patients.
