The Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Ibero-America and the Caribbean Visits ISGlobal

On December 12, the secretary of State for International Cooperation and Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, visited the campus Clinic headquarters of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), with the aim of gaining an in-depth understanding and follow-up of the strategic collaboration between ISGlobal and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).   

The Secretary of State, who is also a ISGlobal Trustee, was received by ISGlobal’s General Director, Antoni Plasència, and Scientific Director, Josep M. Antó, and by Àngel Font, Corporate Director of Research and Strategy at “la Caixa” Foundation and member of the Board of Trustees. After a brief institutional overview, researcher Quique Bassat and ISGlobal manager Gonzalo Vicente analysed the results of more than two decades of collaboratoin between AECID and the Manhiça Health Research Center in Mozambique. Leire Pajin, director of Global Development at ISGlobal and Quim Gascon, director of the Chagas Initiative, then reviewed the current situation of the ISGlobal platforms in Bolivia and Morocco. 

The meeting served to highlight Spain’s valuable contribution in the fight against malaria and Chagas Disease over the last years, notably thanks to the strategic collaboration between ISGlobal and AECID.  On this basis, the Secretary of State, who was accompanied by his Cabinet Advisor Rafael Soriano, expressed his commitment to maintain this strategic partnership in the future and stressed that ISGlobal is a particularly well-placed partner to contribute to the 2030 Agenda and respond to the challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).