What Ministerio De Salud does

The Ministerio de Salud is the constitutional health authority of Costa Rica, headquartered in San José and operating 10,000+ staff across an 82-Area Health Regulatory network, 647 CEN-CINAI nutrition centers, 12 CECUIDAM senior-care centers, and multiple digital service platforms. It is responsible for sanitary regulation (food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, pesticides), epidemiological surveillance, organ/tissue donation coordination, vaccination policy including yellow fever certification, tobacco and vape control, and public health service delivery to vulnerable populations. The Ministry is funded through annual Costa Rican national budget allocations — ₡62 billion in 2023, ₡88 billion in 2025, and ₡140 billion projected for 2026 — and supplements appropriations with fees from sanitary operating permits (Group A ₡55,000, Group B ₡27,500, Group C ₡16,500, micro-enterprises ₡11,000, casinos ₡2,750,000), product registrations, and cannabis/hemp licensing.

The Ministry's technology stack centers on national digital health infrastructure: the SINOVAC vaccine registry, the EDUS citizen mobile application, the Regístrelo sanitary product registration platform, the SINADOC organ/tissue registry, the SIRROAR operational reporting system, the OGES geospatial health observatory, the Datos Abiertos MS open-data portal, and the new VUI single-window platform for cannabis/hemp licensing. Distribution is omnichannel — physical offices, the EDUS app, the Virtual Office with Gaudi digital signature, and WhatsApp — and is reinforced by bilateral and multilateral partnerships (WHO, IAEA, Panama, Chile, CCSS, INCIENSA, MAG, ICD, FODESAF). Customer segments include the general population, the regulated business sector, vulnerable populations (children, pregnant/lactating women, seniors), and international travelers; services are unit-priced, transactional, and statutory, with no commercial revenue dependency on any single private-sector counterparty.

Name

Ministerio De Salud

Legal name

Ministerio de Salud

Website

https://ministeriodesalud.go.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Ministerio de Salud is Costa Rica's national health authority, regulating sanitary permits, pharmaceuticals, food safety, and epidemiological surveillance across 82 Health Areas, 647 CEN-CINAI nutrition centers, and digital platforms (EDUS, SINOVAC, Regístrelo), while serving citizens, businesses, and vulnerable populations under a ₡140B-projected 2026 budget.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Regulation and Sanitary Services

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Consent, Documentation & Certification (Records/Passports/Proof of Vaccination) (HLAJAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) for Global Health (BPADAIAO), Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) & Food Safety Regulatory Cooperation (BPADANAF)

Keywords

• Public health regulation
• Sanitary permits
• Health surveillance
• Vaccination services
• Pharmaceutical registration

Headquarters

HQ city

San José

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Sanitary Operating Permits: Fees collected for sanitary operating permits categorized by risk level: Group A (high risk) at ¢55,000, Group B (moderate risk) at ¢27,500, Group C (low risk) at ¢16,500, and micro-enterprises at ¢11,000
2. Sanitary Product Registration:
3. Controlled Substance Permits: Fees for import and export permits for controlled medications including psychotropic and narcotic substances regulated by the Junta de Vigilancia de Drogas

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ministerio de Salud is the national health authority of Costa Rica, responsible for public health regulation, sanitary surveillance, and the issuance of health-related permits and certificates. It delivers digital vaccination certification (yellow fever via SINOVAC/EDUS), issues sanitary operating permits for businesses categorized by risk level, maintains a national registry for pharmaceutical/food/cosmetic product registration (Regístrelo), operates a single-window investment platform (VUI) for cannabis and hemp licensing, and coordinates nationwide disease surveillance, organ donation, and nutritional services through CEN-CINAI centers.

Product overview

Ministerio de Salud operates as Costa Rica's government health authority providing a portfolio of digital public services including the SINOVAC vaccination registry system, EDUS mobile application for health certificates, the Registrelo platform for sanitary product registration, the VUI platform for cannabis/hemp permits, the open data portal (Datos Abiertos MS), and various digital certificates such as the yellow fever vaccination certificate and food handler cards. These systems are accessible through the digital health portal, the virtual office with digital signature authentication, and mobile applications, serving both individual citizens and businesses requiring health-related permits and registrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ministerio de Salud Digital: Digital health platform and information systems of the Ministry of Health including EDUS, SINOVAC, SINADOC, and other digital health services

Products and services

• Digital Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate Official digital vaccination certificate for yellow fever, accessible through the Ministry's Virtual Office (with digital signature) or the EDUS mobile application. This is the sole official format; physical carnets are no longer issued. For international travelers and citizens in endemic zones.
• SINOVAC System National online system for vaccine registration and record-keeping, used by vaccination centers and health areas to record vaccinations including yellow fever certificates and verify vaccination history. For vaccination centers and health areas nationwide.
• EDUS Mobile Application Official mobile application of the Costa Rican health system that allows citizens to access digital health certificates including yellow fever vaccination records, accessible via the certificates module. For Costa Rican citizens.
• Regístrelo Platform Online platform for product registration including sanitary registrations for food, cosmetics, medications, natural products, biomedical equipment, chemical products, pesticides, and fertilizers. Requires digital signature for process completion. For businesses and importers.
• VUI - Cannabis and Hemp Permit Platform 100% digital centralized platform for managing permits related to hemp for food and industrial use and psychoactive cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use, integrating Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Costa Rican Institute on Drugs. For cannabis and hemp businesses.
• Datos Abiertos MS (Open Data Portal) Open data initiative providing downloadable datasets on registered products including fertilizers, tattoo inks, biomedical equipment, hygiene products, chemicals, pesticides, natural products, and patent information in open formats (CSV, ODT/ODS, XLS/XLSX). Distributed under CC BY 4.0 license. For researchers, businesses, and the general public.
• Digital Food Handler Card (Carné de Manipulación de Alimentos) Digital food handler certification card issued upon completion of a 20-hour food handling course from INA or authorized entities, processed through Health Rector Areas. For food service workers and food handlers.
• Sanitary Operating Permits (Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento) Sanitary operating permits for businesses, categorized by risk level (Group A-high risk ₡55,000, Group B-moderate ₡27,500, Group C-low ₡16,500, Micro-enterprises ₡11,000, Casinos �2,750,000), processed through Health Rector Areas. For businesses operating in regulated sectors.
• Ministerio de Salud Digital Portal Digital health information systems portal including OGES (Geographic Health Observatory), SINOVAC (vaccination records), COMISCA (Central American health information), and other surveillance systems. For health professionals and public health administrators.
• Oficina Virtual (Virtual Office) Online virtual office allowing citizens to request digital certificates and manage health procedures using digital signature authentication through the Gaudi system. For citizens and businesses needing digital health procedures.

Quantifiable outcome

• Malaria cases decreased by 88% from 244 in 2024 to 29 in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Chile (Ministry of Health and Institute of Public Health)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026
• World Health Organization (WHO)flagshipOthers · 1 February 2026
• Panama (Ministry of Health)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA/OIEA)minorOthers · 1 January 2026
• Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (INCIENSA)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026
• Parque DiversionesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Grupo MongeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Museo de los NiñosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas (ICD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• National Vaccination Programs (Vaccunatones)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026
• Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS): Costa Rica's national social-security institution is the Ministry's flagship domestic partner for service delivery. While not a peer regulator, CCSS operates the actual provider network (hospitals, EBAIS) under the Ministry's stewardship — making it the closest 'enabling' ecosystem participant.
• Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (INCIENSA): Costa Rica's national nutrition and health research institute is a 'We to Them' technology/integration partner. Comparable as a national health-research arm that complements the Ministry's regulatory and surveillance activities, including adverse-reaction reporting referenced in contact data.

Direct peers

• Ministerio de Salud de Panamá: Panama's national health authority — directly comparable as a Central American ministry of health. The two entities maintain a formal cross-border cooperation partnership (1,300 homes fumigated jointly in border zones), making it the closest functional peer.
• Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia: Colombia's health ministry is structurally analogous: it regulates sanitary product registration, runs vaccination programs (including yellow fever), oversees EPS/IPES, and conducts epidemiological surveillance for a much larger population. Useful benchmark for scaling and digital health.
• Secretaría de Salud de México: Mexico's federal health secretariat performs the same regulatory, vaccination, and epidemiological surveillance functions at much larger scale. Comparable as a national-level regulator with sanitary product registration (COFEPRIS is its decentralized arm).
• Ministerio de Salud de Chile: Chile's health ministry, alongside its Instituto de Salud Pública, has a documented mutual cooperation partnership with Ministerio de Salud Costa Rica. Operates an equivalent portfolio of sanitary regulation, public health programs, and digital health infrastructure for a larger population.
• Ministerio de Salud de Argentina: Argentina's Ministerio de Salud performs equivalent regulatory, surveillance, vaccination, and health-services oversight functions, including federal coordination with provincial health authorities — a comparable governance model for federalized public health.
• Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social de Guatemala: Guatemala's MSPAS performs the same core functions — sanitary permits, vaccination programs, epidemiological surveillance, and nutrition services — as Costa Rica's Ministry. A directly comparable Central American national health authority.

Broad incumbents

• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO): PAHO is the regional WHO office and a strategic partner of Ministerio de Salud. It does not directly compete but operates in the same public-health governance space, setting regional norms (e.g., COMISCA information systems referenced by the Ministry) and providing technical assistance.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): U.S. CDC is a much larger analog in epidemiology, vaccination programs, and sanitary guidance. Not a competitor but provides the global methodological benchmark the Ministry's OGES surveillance and SINOVAC registry are designed to emulate at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ministerio De Salud