UN General Assembly
1963

33. A careful study of the Charter of Punta del Este shows the importance it attaches to the health factor. This is, in fact, one of the most delicate problems facing our peoples and it is necessary to deal with it at the same time as we are planning our economic growth and social progress, for, as the Group of Experts of the Organization of American States on Planning for Economic and Social Development in Latin America determined, improvements in health conditions are not only desirable in themselves, but they are an essential prerequisite for economic growth, and therefore they must be an integral element of any meaningful programme in the region. For that reason, my country considers the money spent on health care as an investment, a productivity factor, not an expense. The yield on this investment is an increase in the capacity of the members of the community to strengthen the human factor in the production and consumption of goods and services, thus increasing the wealth of the countries concerned.