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OAS and PAHO to Offer Scholarships to Promote Health and Research Issues in the Americas

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), sister entities of the Inter-American System, today signed an agreement to join forces to strengthen education and human development in the Americas through the joint promotion of scholarship opportunities for the citizens of the region in training programs designed to enhance health and the production of research on health issues.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed today at the headquarters of the OAS by the Director of the OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Employment, Marie Levens, representing the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, and the Assistant Director of PAHO, Francisco Becerra Posada, reaffirms the commitment of both institutions to recognize education as one of the determinants of health and to contribute to strengthening the technical and research abilities those working in the health field, including research in the area.

Director Levens said that the agreement "represents a unique opportunity for cooperation with a well known entity in the health sector, with which we will execute programs that will help us join forces and capabilities for the benefit of our peoples." She added that the initiative has great significance for the OAS, as the issue of health also represents a priority for the Organization.

For his part, Assistant Director Becerra, representing the PAHO Director, Carissa F. Etienne, said that "the area of ​​health and health research are increasingly taking a more important role when it comes to universal coverage, equity and social justice." Health research, he added, "plays a major role in the center of the generation of research results for better decision-making based on evidence." Finally, he expressed gratitude for the initiative of the OAS to seek partners specialized in important sectors such as health.

According to the document signed, the OAS and PAHO will provide scholarships for training, undergraduate, graduate programs, and/or research at universities or institutions of higher education. Studies may be in an online, on-site, or a mixture of the two.

As part of the agreement, both institutions emphasized that the goal is to consolidate access to quality education for all as a key to strengthening democratic institutions, promoting human development and equality and understanding among peoples, and to positively influence economic growth and the eradication of poverty.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-047/14