SECOND LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN GLOBAL HEALTH CONFERENCE
“Transcending borders for health equity”
Santiago, Chile
January 9-11, 2013
The Latin American Alliance for Global Health (ALASAG) and the School of Public Health of the
University of Chile are pleased to convene the Second Latin American and Caribbean Global Health
Conference to be held in Santiago, Chile, on January 9 to 11, 2013. This event follows up the successful
first conference in Cuernavaca, Mexico in April 2010 organized by the National Public Health Institute of
Mexico and the Consortium for Global Health Education.
Organizing Institutions
The Latin American Alliance for Global Health (ALASAG), created in the context of the first Congress
mentioned above, is a network of horizontal collaboration in Latin America and the Caribbean around
global health issues that affect and are priorities for the Region. ALASAG consists of Latin American
academic institutions specializing in research, teaching, advocacy and outreach in Public Health. ALASAG
understands Global Health as a way of seeing and addressing health as a global public good, a subject of
social justice and a universal right, which revolves around equity, ethics and respect for human rights.
The School of Public Health “Dr. Salvador Allende G.” of the University of Chile is the leading academic
institution for Public Health teaching, research and outreach in Public Health in Chile and is one of the
most important in Latin America. Currently the School has an interdisciplinary faculty assigned to four
departments: epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and management and health promotion. It also
has three interdisciplinary programs in Mental Health, Occupational and Environmental Health and
Global Health. The School led the Latin American Association of Schools of Public Health (ALAESP) for six
years and has active partnerships with major universities and research centers in public health
worldwide.
Objectives
The objective of the Second Latin American and Caribbean Global Health Conference is to share
knowledge and strengthen partnerships for education, research and advocacy in Global Health in Latin
America and The Caribbean. The conference also seeks to contribute a Latin American outlook to the
most pressing issues in the global health and development agenda, such as the impact of the economic
crisis, social movements and conflicts and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Finally, the
conference is intended as a forum for discussion and proposal for progress toward achieving greater
equity and social justice within and among all countries.
Program
The program of the Second Latin American and Caribbean Congress on Global Health will be built on its
overarching theme, "Transcending borders for equity in health." The lectures, panels, and oral and
poster presentations by policy makers, professional practitioners and students will focus on a critical
perspective, reflective of the current state of the search for greater equity in health. The program will
reflect the vitality and variety of topics focused on by Global Health academic programs at partner
institutions in Latin America and in other regions of the world. This program is organized in the following
areas of work:
• Migration, violence and population displacements
• International cooperation for the comprehensive management of disasters and epidemics
• Challenges of movements and social networks
• Development cooperation and global health diplomacy
• Universal coverage and social protection
• Research, innovation and implementation in global health
• Working towards the new Millennium Development Goals
• The economic crisis and its impact on public health
• Climate Change, Challenges and Opportunities for Global Health
The Conference´s program will be structured by various types of work sessions including lectures,
panels, simultaneous presentation sessions and individual papers and posters.
Participants
The Conference is expected to gather more than 300 participants from Chile and Latin America,
including academics, professionals, politicians, diplomats, activists, community and Native American
leaders. International aid agencies, universities and research institutes from the United States, Canada,
Europe, Asia and Africa have also been invited.
Speakers
We are in process of extending invitations to various and prominent speakers from Latin America and
other regions of the world whose work is related to public health and social development. These
include: Dr. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Fund for Women Program (UN Women), Dr. Mirta Roses,
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO / WHO), Dr. Wolfgang Munar-Angulo, Gates Foundation, Dr.
Roger Glass, Fogarty International Center, Sir Michael Marmot, UCL International Institute for Society
and Health; Prof. Ronald Labonte, University of Ottawa, Dr. Paulo Buss, Fiocruz Foundation, Prof. Julio
Frenk, Harvard University, Dr. Jaime Mañalich, Ministry of Health, Chile, Dr. Jeannette Vega, Rockefeller
Foundation, Ilona Kickbusch, The Graduate Institute.
Sponsors
The First Congress had generous financial support from various agencies such as the Pan American
Health Organization, the Fogarty International Center, the International Center for Development
Research (IDRC), and the Gates Foundation among others. Similarly, it is expected that Second
Conference will be sponsored by various funding sources in Latin American and internationally.
Meanwhile, the School of Public Health at the University of Chile, as host of the event, will contribute
their own resources and Chilean funding sources for the organization and logistics of the conference.
Expected Impact
The Second Latin American and Caribbean Global Health Conference will help consolidate Global Health
as a major field of study and action in public health in the countries of the Region. By applying a Latin
American vision and perspective, it will also enrich the knowledge in global health worldwide. Finally,
the conference will contribute to making ALASAG a permanent network of development of Global
Health in Latin America.
For more information: alasag@insp.mx
Giorgio Solimano Cantuarias
President
2nd Latinamerican and Carribean Global
Health Conference
School of Public Health
Universidad de Chile
V. Nelly Salgado de Snyder
Technical Secretariat
Alianza Latinoamericana de Salud Global
(ALASAG)
National Institute of Public Health
Cuernavaca, México