Salud Mesoamérica 2015

Website

http://www.saludmesoamerica2015.org/

The Salud Mesoamerica 2015 Initiative (SM2015) is a public-private partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute, the Government of Spain, and the Inter-American Development Bank. The aim of this initiative is to reduce the gap in health equity affecting populations living in extreme poverty in Mesoamerica.

SM2015 supports the work undertaken by governments in the region (an area that includes Central America, Panama and six states in southern Mexico) to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals. This support takes the form of investment in interventions of proven efficacy targeting the poorest 20% of the population, mainly women of reproductive age and children under five. SM2015 will implement transformative solutions aimed at expanding the coverage and increasing the quality and use of basic public health services in the following areas: reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health care; maternal and child nutrition; immunisation; malaria; and dengue.

During the initial phase, ISGlobal has provided technical assistance to the Inter-American Development Bank, the region's health ministries, and the Pan-American Health Organization with the design of the strategy for the vector-borne disease component of SM2015, which is focused on malaria and dengue. The aim of this component is to design interventions to test proof of concept in two geographical areas with different demographic, epidemiologic, and environmental profiles with a view to demonstrating the feasibility of malaria elimination in the Mesoamerican region. The conclusions drawn and lessons learned may also prove useful in the application of similar strategies in other parts of the world, thereby reinforcing global initiatives in the fight against malaria. The vector component also includes the design and implementation of measures to strengthen national programmes for the control of dengue, one of the greatest challenges for the region's public health systems.

ISGlobal is providing technical support for the contribution of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and coordinating the Initiative's joint activities with other actors, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In the second phase, ISGlobal will continue to provide technical assistance to support the implementation and monitoring of all of the Initiative's activities by the Health Ministries of the Mesoamerican countries.

For more information, visit: http://www.saludmesoamerica2015.org/