Construindo a soberania sanitária no Mercosul: a experiência do curso de desenvolvimento e produção de vacinas

Introduction: This paper reports on the experience of the Vaccine Development and Production Course, an initiative promoted by Fiocruz within the framework of the MERCOSUR Health Ministers’ Meetings. The experience was developed in the second half of 2023, with the participation of students from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay as member states of the bloc and Chile as an associate state. Objective: To support the hypothesis that we will only be able to advance health sovereignty in the field of vaccines if we simultaneously implement sovereignty in terms of strategy and the process of training human resources, articulating the region’s capabilities in a network. Method: This is a report that presents reflections onhealth sovereignty in the production of biological products, based on a training experience that involved the mobilisation of existing capacities at Fiocruz, Instituto Butantan and Nortec, based on synchronous remote classes and personal technical visits. Results: Details of this experience were presented and based on this, we sought to outline appropriate strategies for continuing professional development in the region, with the aim of achieving health sovereignty in terms of regional vaccine production with a view to self-sufficiency. Conclusions: It is noted that despite the language barriers and institutional differences between the bloc and the associated countries, the evaluation carried out at the end of the course confirms the relevance and the need to expand experiences such as the one developed. The need to create capacities in the region to effectively achieve health sovereignty is evident, as well as the importance of incorporating some strategic themes identified by the students to continue the qualification of professionals in the region, in a continuous and permanent training process.