Abelardo de la Espriella Appoints Ana Maria Vesga as His Minister of Health
Just eight days before being sworn in in Cali, President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella appointed his Minister of Health this Thursday, July 30. It is Ana Maria Vesga, who will take charge of one of the most troubled ministries in the cabinet, especially because of the crisis in which that sector was left at the end of the government of outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
“The health of Colombians cannot wait any longer. For too long, millions of families have suffered the consequences of a system in crisis. That reality begins to change. Today I welcome Ana Maria Vesga as Minister of Health of the Miracle Homeland,” De la Espriella said on his social media accounts.
“Her task will be to lead an emergency plan to guarantee timely care, the supply of medicines, stability for the health workforce, and the financial recovery of the sector, while we build a more efficient, transparent, supportive model strengthened in the regions,” added Colombia’s new president.
De la Espriella continues complying with the gender quota law
The designated Minister of Health has served as executive president of the Colombian Association of Comprehensive Medicine Companies (ACEMI), and has led the health and pharmaceutical industry divisions of ANDI.
“The Government of the Miracle Homeland will work to build an efficient, transparent system strengthened in the regions, one that guarantees access to services and once again places the lives and well-being of patients at the center of decision-making,” De la Espriella added in a statement.
With this appointment, De la Espriella continues complying with the gender quota law, which requires gender parity (50%) in senior government positions.
The appointed male ministers are Rodrigo Lara, Minister of the Interior; Miguel Gomez Martinez, Finance; Omar Bula Escobar, Foreign Affairs; Fabio Arjona, Environment; Jorge Mora, Defense; Mauricio Gomez Amin, Commerce; Jaime Andres Beltran, Housing; Ivan Cancino, Justice; and Indalecio Dangond, Agriculture.
The female ministers are, in addition to Vesga in Health, Viviane Morales, Education; Elsa Noguera, Transportation; Juliana Gutierrez, Sports; Maria Nohemi Arboleda, Mines and Energy; Alexandra Falla Zerrate, Information and Communications Technologies; Paola Holguin, Culture; and Natalia Lopez, Labor. The only appointment still pending is the person who will head the Ministry of Science.
New minister must confront a serious health care crisis
The new Minister of Health will have to confront the crisis in that sector, which has been diagnosed pessimistically by a variety of experts, including the Think Tank Asi Vamos en Salud (AVS), which has just published its latest report entitled “Health Sector Accountability Report for the 2022-2026 Government Period.”
The main conclusion of that document is that, at the end of Gustavo Petro’s government, the health system presents a combination of greater public resources, deterioration in several access indicators, a historic increase in user complaints, and a financial situation that remains under pressure.
The report also establishes that Colombia ends this four-year period with more than one million people outside health coverage, a record number of petitions and legal actions, and nine Health Promotion Entities (EPS) placed under government intervention.
Regarding coverage, it states: “At the close of the period evaluated, in January 2026, the Government leaves an enrollment coverage rate of 98.23%. Although the figure remains high in percentage terms, its steady decline since 2022 represents, in absolute numbers, that just over one million people are no longer enrolled in the health system and are therefore outside its coverage.”
Another issue it addresses is effective access to services, which lost momentum. After reaching a peak of 17.91 million people treated in outpatient consultations during the first half of 2024, the indicator declined to 13.77 million by the end of 2025, a level similar to that observed when Petro’s government began.
In addition, the Government promoted one of the largest waves of administrative interventions in Health Promotion Entities (EPS) ever recorded in the country. During the four-year term, Nueva EPS, Sanitas, Famisanar, Coosalud, Emssanar, Savia Salud, Asmet Salud, Servicio Occidental de Salud, and Capresoca were placed under government intervention.
What happened to health care in Colombia was reflected in users’ experiences. “At the end of the period evaluated, citizens’ experience with the health system reached the highest levels of dissatisfaction recorded” since the creation of the General Social Security Health System (SGSSS), the report states.
One figure shows the magnitude of this finding: during 2025, 2.04 million petitions, complaints, claims, and requests were recorded, the highest volume ever reported, and 60% of those complaints corresponded to EPS under government intervention.
All of these are only some examples of the state of health care in Colombia that the new minister will have to confront starting on August 7, when President-elect De la Espriella and his entire cabinet take office.