Ibero-American cooperation in medical certification and recertification
Family Medicine advances Ibero-American cooperation in medical certification and recertification
Organised by CAMEC and CIMF in Bogotá, the meeting brought together experiences from five countries and culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Bogotá, aimed at strengthening cooperation among governing bodies.
November 2026
Bogotá, Colombia. The First International Meeting of Governing Bodies for Medical Certification and Recertification in Ibero-America, held on 22 and 23 October 2026, opened a forum for dialogue among countries and medical specialties to advance cooperation in these processes.
The initiative was organised by the Colombian Council for the Accreditation and Medical Recertification of Specialists and Related Professions (CAMEC) and the Ibero-American Confederation of Family Medicine (WONCA Iberoamericana-CIMF), with the involvement of its Working Group on Certification and Recertification.
Led by Family Medicine, the meeting extended its reach to the wider Ibero-American medical community, bringing together governing bodies from different specialties to address shared challenges.
Watch the video
A short video about the meeting is available on social media:
Two days of exchange and joint work
The two-day programme featured experiences from Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, as well as contributions from Colombia's Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Royal College and the Colombian Association of Scientific Societies.
The first day, under the theme "Getting to Know One Another: Sharing and Understanding", focused on an assessment of the current landscape and national presentations on medical certification and recertification.
The second day, entitled "Dialogue: Building and Agreeing Together", centred on working groups addressing professional competence and incentives for recertification, evaluation mechanisms and existing gaps and barriers. These discussions provided a basis for dialogue on needs and opportunities for international cooperation.
The Declaration of Bogotá sets a course for cooperation
One of the meeting's principal achievements was the signing of the Declaration of Bogotá, which sets a course towards harmonising concepts, aligning evaluation criteria and progressively developing reciprocity mechanisms among countries.
These objectives establish a framework for collaboration that will require sustained technical and institutional engagement, taking into account the specific characteristics of national systems and the responsibilities of each governing body.
The declaration thus provides a starting point for translating the common ground identified during the meeting into shared commitments.
Leadership serving the entire medical profession
The meeting highlighted Family Medicine's ability to build bridges across specialties, promote the exchange of experiences and contribute to regional consensus-building.
Through their joint efforts, CAMEC and CIMF placed issues relating to quality, trust and professional recognition in healthcare on a shared agenda grounded in Ibero-American cooperation.
From dialogue to sustained regional collaboration
The path opened in Bogotá presents the challenge of following through on commitments and advancing the declaration's objectives. Potential areas for continued work include technical exchanges among governing bodies, comparisons of national experiences and further work on evaluation criteria and possible reciprocity mechanisms.
Disseminating the Declaration of Bogotá and compiling the meeting's conclusions, presentations and materials could support this next stage and raise awareness of the initiative among medical organisations across the region.
Through this meeting, CAMEC and CIMF have helped launch a cooperative process that, led by Family Medicine, seeks to strengthen ties and joint efforts throughout the Ibero-American medical community.
