Foreword
The repository of legislation on risk factors offers Member States organized, systematized, and updated legal information on the main risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
International recommendations based on solid scientific evidence point to regulatory measures as one of the most effective ways to address NCD risk factors.
This information system is an integral component of PAHO’s REGULA initiative. It is the product of broad multidisciplinary research on public sources of information on legislation and regulations in 19 Latin American countries, compiled by PAHO with the support of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law (Georgetown University, USA).
The system is jointly managed by PAHO’s Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Mental Department, and by the Organization’s Office of Legal Counsel. It is housed on the information platform of PAHO’s Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, BIREME.
This repository is not a substitute for legal information from Member States, nor should it be regarded as complete, up-to-date, or definitive since the system is under construction and will be updated semiannually. It currently contains information to December 2016.
This effort will be part of a comprehensive system for the dissemination of information on health legislation in the Region of the Americas, which will be progressively developed as a series of modules on relevant topics in public health.