The Pan-American Suicide Prevention Forum is declared of public interest

The Executive Branch has declared the 2026 Pan-American Regional Forum of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) to be of public interest, which will take place from November 9 to 11, 2026, at the Double Tree Hilton hotel in Cariari. The decision was formalized in Executive Decree No. 45954-S, published in La Gaceta No. 203 on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the Executive Branch section. The regulation enables public and private sector agencies to collaborate in the activity, but expressly establishes that it does not grant tax benefits of any kind.

The decree was signed at the Presidency of the Republic, in San José, on the eighteenth day of the month of September 2026, by President Laura Fernández Delgado and the Minister of Health, Dr. Alexander Sánchez Cabo. It was issued based on articles 140 paragraphs 3) and 18) and 146 of the Political Constitution; articles 25 paragraph l), 27 paragraph 1) and 28 paragraph 2) subparagraph b) of Law No. 6227, General Law of Public Administration; articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 of Law No. 5395, General Health Law; and articles 1, 2 and 6 of Law No. 5412, Organic Law of the Ministry of Health.

The process and official arguments

The recitals of Executive Decree No. 45954-S start from the premise that the health of the population is a fundamental right and a matter of public interest protected by the State. It is stated that from November 9 to 11, 2026, the International Association for Suicide Prevention will be in charge of organizing the forum, and that it was this association that requested the Ministry of Health to declare the activity of public interest.

The official text also specifies that the IASP has the Employer Identification Number (EIN) 20-4701041, data incorporated into Article 1 to identify the organizing entity.

Objectives: capacities, evidence, and intercultural approach

According to the decree, the general objective of the forum is to strengthen suicide prevention through the exchange of scientific knowledge, intersectoral cooperation, and the dissemination of best practices. Additionally, the activity seeks the strengthening of capacities for the implementation of evidence-based strategies, with an inclusive, intercultural approach oriented toward the protection and promotion of mental health.

The scope of the declaration is limited to institutional support. Article 2 indicates that Public Sector and Private Sector agencies may collaborate “to the extent of their possibilities and without prejudice to the fulfillment of their own objectives,” such that no obligation for contribution or specific budget allocation is created.

Regarding the authorized entities, the decree distinguishes two spheres:

• Public Sector agencies, including those of the Ministry of Health itself.
• Private Sector entities that decide to support the holding of the forum.

Without tax exemptions

Article 3 is explicit: the decree does not grant tax benefits, “such as exemptions or any other tax benefit.” The provision refers to Article 5 of Executive Decree No. 40540-H, titled Fiscal Contingency, published in Supplement No. 191 of La Gaceta No. 148 on August 7, 2017. With this reference, the Executive Branch closes the door to the declaration of public interest being interpreted as a tax exemption mechanism for organizers or sponsors.

Article 4 provides that the decree takes effect from its publication, that is, from October 27, 2026, meaning the window for institutional coordination remains open for less than two weeks before the start of the forum.

The impact of the measure is fundamentally operational: it turns the forum into a recognized state-backed activity, which facilitates the participation of public institutions in an international event on suicide prevention, but without committing resources or exemptions. For entities interested in contributing, the margin for action is limited and must be channeled according to their own competencies and budgets.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 203 of October 27, 2026, Executive Branch — Decrees, p. 2 (official reference: D45954-IN202601135139).