Vice President Raquel Peña meets Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to expand cooperation on public health

Washington, D.C.- Vice President Raquel Peña and Minister of Public Health Víctor Atallah met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to strengthen bilateral cooperation on public health, research, innovation, and health system resilience.

The meeting, coordinated by U.S. Ambassador Leah Campos, reinforced the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries, which promotes collaboration in epidemiological surveillance, laboratory capacity, digital health transformation, emergency preparedness, disease prevention, and the supply of essential medicines.

Both delegations discussed shared public health priorities, including the United States’ Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, with a focus on preventing chronic diseases through improved nutrition, physical activity, metabolic health, research, and emerging technologies.

Officials also explored ways to strengthen regional pharmaceutical supply chains, highlighting the Dominican Republic’s potential to expand production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and strategic generic medicines to improve regional health security.

Additional topics included mental health, obesity, chronic noncommunicable diseases, emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence in healthcare, precision medicine, scientific research, and secure health data exchange.

Vice President Peña reaffirmed President Luis Abinader’s commitment to expanding health cooperation with the United States, while Atallah stressed that prevention, innovation, and research are essential to building stronger health systems.