Argentina: public health genomics.

Argentina's population numbers about 40 million, with main genetic contributions from Europeans, Amerindians and, to a much lower extent, West Africans. There is a traditional health care system publicly funded coexisting with a social security system and a for-profit private sector. Clinical genetic services include about 40 units in public hospitals dealing mainly with pediatric genetics. The most conspicuous public policies in genetics are newborn screening and folic acid fortification of flour. Genetics/genomics research is funded by state agencies and is conducted in several institutes and centers. Clinical genetics research occurs in public hospitals and deals primarily with congenital syndromes. While there are no defined government policies in the public application of genomics, there have been initiatives to improve the provision of clinical genetic services countrywide. The main hurdles for applying genetics in health care are a fragmented, inefficient, and inequitable health system, facing large unmet needs in infectious diseases, malnutrition, prenatal and newborn care, deficient education in genetics, and lack of explicit public policies in genetic health care and governmental regulations. Overcoming these obstacles requires increase in government funding and improvement of the efficiency of the public health system and its genetic services. Further, there must be concerted efforts to ensure equitable access to the latter. Interactions should be promoted between clinical geneticists, public health officers, primary health care personnel and parent/patient organizations on the use of genetics/genomics in public health, as well as genetics education of health professionals, the public and decision makers, and development of the capacity of the state to regulate properly the application of genetic/genomic technologies to public health.