The official launch of the website salud.santander.gov.co took place in the main auditorium of the Scientific Complex for Health and Life Sciences Research. This modern platform brings together up-to-date health information with the aim of serving as a channel for disease prevention and wellness promotion for all citizens of the department of Santander.
The renovation of the portal responds to the commitment established within the framework of Inter-administrative Contract No. CO1.PCCNTR.8310169 2025, signed between the Santander Departmental Health Secretariat and the Industrial University of Santander (UIS). This contract marks an important step in institutional collaboration to strengthen communication and access to digital health resources.
The work to launch this platform began in 2018, with several previous contracts that allowed the concept of the page to be gradually developed. Under the leadership of Dr. Aurora Inés Gáfaro Rojas, professor in the Department of Public Health at the UIS, an interdisciplinary team of professionals has worked over the last five years to consolidate rigorous and useful content.
“This initiative began with digital content. We started doing it on a massive scale and virtually, and when we saw that the 87 municipalities had the same functions and were repetitive, we managed to consolidate everything into one platform, salud.santander.com. Here we can find courses and diploma programs certified by the UIS, completely free of charge,” said Professor Aurora.
Although the origins of the website date back to 2018, it was in 2020, with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, that most of the content was consolidated, providing a broad and up-to-date resource for visitors.
“Today, the Departmental Health Secretariat is launching the interactive website, with accurate and accessible information. We will find courses for basic teams, ETV, mental health, we will have updated epidemiological bulletins to make them known to the entire department, and we will constantly be making updates that we offer from the public health area to the department,” said Jesús Efrey Chivatá Castañeda, coordinator of Public Health Management at the Departmental Health Secretariat.
The UIS highlights the participation of faculty members, professionals from other academic fields, and health service providers from both the city and other municipalities in the department. The purpose has been to bring together all relevant information in one place so that the population can easily and reliably consult on topics related to prevention, health promotion, and medical care.
“The launch of this website is significant because all the previous observations serve as a starting point for new research, to prepare us for new events, to revisit experiences,” said Jürg Niederbacher Velásquez, dean of the UIS Faculty of Health.
We invite you to visit salud.santander.gov.co to explore the available resources, prevention guides, public health news, self-care recommendations and guidance for patients and professionals, courses on health, public health management, epidemiology and demography, social participation, provincial agency, epidemiological bulletins, child health, food safety, sexual and reproductive health, among others. This new platform is a key tool for strengthening health education and access to quality information in the department.
