About Us

About ILAR

 

ILAR is the Latin-American Association of Responsible Self-Care, a regional non-profit organization leading the promotion of responsible self-care as the best way for being and staying healthy, as well as guaranteeing access to self-care products.

ILAR is a member of the Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF), an international non-governmental association in an official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Founded in December 2001, our Association gathers leading product manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies in the region committed to the responsible use of self-care products in Latin America.

  • Our Association holds the Consultative Status of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with access to the Council, its numerous subsidiary bodies, and special events organized by the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

  • We organize the regional regulatory working group with Associations and Regulatory Agencies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, to address relevant issues on regulatory convergence in the region.

Our Objectives

We focus on three key objectives to stimulate a favorable environment for self-care, promote its adoption and practice, and thus improve the health of Latin American citizens:

 
 

Education

Expand and deepen regional understanding of the value of self-care for public health, support knowledge for its practice, and promote education for the responsible use of self-care products such as over-the-counter medications and food supplements.

 
 

Research

Strengthen data-based evidence and understanding of the region to convey the value of information access, communication, and the importance of information-based user selection.

 
 

Regulations

Advocate for the development of public policies that encourage the practice of self-care and facilitate access to related products, therefore achieving a direct impact on health, the quality of life of populations, and the sustainability of health systems.

Collaborations

We advocate for the development of evidence-based national self-care public policies to foster its practice and generate a direct impact on people's quality of life and the sustainability of health systems in the region through:

 
 

Communication Campaigns

We develop an annual Responsible Self-Care Campaign for Latin Americans with the support of health organizations, members, and allies.

 
 

Agreements

We have a collaboration agreement with the Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas to emphasize the role of the pharmacist in promoting responsible self-care in Latin America.

 
 

Workgroups

We take part of The Health Group and the Transparency and Regulatory Cooperation Group of the American Business Dialogue.

We are active on committees and working groups within the Global Self-Care Federation.