From 21 to 25 July, a delegation of the International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM) carried out an official mission to Argentina and Uruguay. The trip consolidated ties with AIM members and other mutual organisations in Latin America and reaffirmed AIM’s commitment to solidarity-based health systems.

In Buenos Aires, AIM was warmly welcomed by the Confederación Argentina de Mutualidades (CAM) and its President Alejandro Russo, who also serves as AIM Vice President for Latin America. The mission featured a rich programme of meetings with national authorities and mutual leaders. AIM representatives, including AIM President Loek Caubo, AIM Vice Presidents Yannick Lucas, Verena Nold, Abdelaziz Alaoui, and Fabio Secci (Director of CMCM, Luxembourg) and Mar Moncosí Saballs and Sibylle Reichert from the AIM Team, met with Dr Marcelo Collomb, President of the National Institute for Associativism and Social Economy (INAES), and members of the Parliamentary Commission on Cooperatives and Mutuals, chaired by MP Eduardo Toniolli.

CAM and FAMSA also hosted a congress on mutualism in health, “Global Health Challenges, Solidarity Based Answers,” bringing together leaders from Argentina and abroad, including Health Minister Mario Lugones. Discussions focused on global issues such as high medicine costs, demographic change, and the role of AI in health. The contribution of AIM’s delegation, including a presentation on AIM’s EU Fair Pricing model, underlined how mutualism offers concrete solutions for a solidarity based, sustainable access to care.

The delegation visited major mutual health institutions, such as the Spanish and Italian Hospitals of La Plata, emblematic examples of solidarity and resilience sustaining health services for over 140 years. Meetings with the Mutual Association of Private Practice Physicians (AMUMAP) further demonstrated the strength and innovation of Argentina’s mutualist movement.

In Uruguay, the AIM delegation met with Health Minister Cristina Lustemberg to exchange on the country’s health system and pharmaceutical challenges. The talks revealed shared concerns: rising medicine prices, demographic shifts, and the need to balance innovation with equity, closely aligned with AIM’s vision for a new social contract in health.

Throughout the mission, AIM stressed that global cooperation, mutual learning, and open dialogue are key to building solidarity based systems capable of meeting universal health challenges. The exchanges in Argentina and Uruguay confirmed that mutuals are not just part of history but a vibrant force for the future of health worldwide.