May 29, 2020

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Drexel University have established a formal agreement to collaborate on efforts to promote urban health throughout Latin America. 

The agreement facilitates ongoing collaboration between the Salud Urbana en America Latina (“Urban Health in Latin America”) or SALURBAL project, led by the Urban Health Collaborative at the Dornsife School of Public Health, and the Health Promotion and Social Determinants Unit at the Regional office of PAHO/WHO in Washington, D.C. 

The two groups will continue efforts to coordinate research and policy priorities, leverage regional contacts and engagement opportunities throughout policy processes, and identify ways to improve the capacities of the  local governments throughout the region in their efforts to promote urban health. 

The teams have worked together on multiple initiatives in recent years. PAHO representatives have played a key role in providing feedback and insights about the SALURBAL research project and relevance for local actors throughout the region. In October 2019, Dean Ana Diez Roux of the Dornsife School of Public Health joined Gerry Eijkemans, Chief of PAHO’s Health Promotion and Social Determinants Unit, and mayors from across the Americas at the third meeting of the Health Municipalities, Cities and Communities Movement. The meeting took place in Paipa, Colombia and marked the official launch of a policy brief on Health in All Urban Policies, which was co-produced by the SALURBAL and PAHO teams.

Promoting healthy and sustainable cities requires concrete guidance, experience, and collaboration across many sectors to address the determinants of urban health. In today’s context of uncertainty and global challenges, PAHO and Drexel University remain committed to the goals of supporting development to improve health, equity, and environmental sustainability. Now more than ever, urban inequalities need to be addressed to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.