On the last day of the Cuba Health Convention, the website of the Regional Network of Interprofessional Education of the Americas (REIP) was launched during the panel: Interprofessional Health Education in the Context of the Regional Strategy on Human Resources for Health.The launch was organized by Jose Rodrigues Freire Filho, International Professional Consultant, and facilitated by Dr. José Francisco Garcia Gutierrez, Advisor in the Human Resources Department of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). In attendance were Dr. Cláudia Brandão, Director of the Department of Health Education Management of the Ministry of Health of Brazil and Dr. Marcos del Risco, Director of the Department of Human Resources of the Ministry of Health of Cuba.

Dr. Brandão, a member of the executive secretariat of the newly created REIP, presented on the advances of interprofessional education (IPE) in the Brazilian context and initiatives to support the development of IPE in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Brandao discussed how the website will make it possible to strengthen the exchange of IPE experiences between countries, as well as how the website is an important step forward for REIP to support countries and encourage the inclusion of IPE in human resources policies in the Americas.

 "IPE is a recent approach for us, but we do know its potential to transform health worker education by being an effective approach to mitigate the health workforce crisis and improve universal access and coverage to health. Therefore, we must invest in IPE, especially to disseminate the concept and share experiences that have the capacity to be scaled up," said Dr. Brandão, who during the event represented Argentina and Chile, countries which are also members of the executive secretariat of REIP .

The event was attended by Dr. James Fitzgerald, current director of the Department of Health Systems and Services of PAHO/WHO, and Dr. Ariadna Corral of the National School of Public Health in Havana.

About the Network

The Regional Network of Interprofessional Education of the Americas constitutes a strategy of articulation and technical cooperation between educational institutions, professional organizations and Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, with the objective of promoting interprofessional education and collaborative practice in health care in the Region of the Americas. The network vision is: articulate and exchange experiences, knowledge and production of scientific evidence on the subject of interprofessional education to support policies and contribute to Universal Health. Its mission is " to cooperate with the countries of the Region of the Americas to develop and advance the theme of interprofessional education and collaborative practice in health.

All countries in the Region of the Americas are invited to become members of REIP. The executive secretariat of REIP is headed by the representatives of the countries: Argentina, Brazil and Chile for the period 2018 to 2019. The goal is for the 18 countries in the Americas region that have submitted their EIP action plans to become members of REIP.

The IPE occurs when members or students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care and health services. 

IPE occurs when students or professionals from two or more professions know each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. IPE is a necessary approach to prepare health personnel for collaborative practice.