La salud para las comunidades negras en Colombia: del reconocimiento a la transformación

This article examines the Colombian State’s obligation to shift from affirmative action policies to transformative health policies for Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera communities to improve their social and health conditions. This qualitative study, adopting a socio-legal approach, relies on a review of current regulations, jurisprudence, and specialized literature on social determinants of health and traditional practices. It is clear that, despite a comprehensive regulatory framework, social, economic, cultural, and geographic barriers continue to hinder Black communities from accessing health services in a timely and quality manner, while also undermining and risking their traditional systems of care and healing. Affirmative action policies have shown limited impact, as they fail to address the root causes of inequality. A transition toward transformative policies with an intercultural approach is proposed, linking the traditional health system with the formal system through therapeutic complementarity, reciprocal training of health personnel, community participation, and an ethnic-territorial perspective. It concludes that it is the obligation of the State, through the General Social Security System in Health, to design and implement a unified and intercultural health system for Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera communities that recognizes their worldviews, guarantees equitable access to care, and ensures the effective exercise of the fundamental right to health.