Testimonials

GHMe: Where do you come from and where are you currently based?

Fernando Zacarías: I was born in Mexico City where I had my medical education. I specialized in Family Medicine (University of Miami, FL) and later on, in internal medicine and infectious diseases (Emory University in Atlanta,) before returning to Mexico. After five years of practice, research and teaching in my country, I went back to the USA and obtained my degrees (MPH and DrPH) in tropical public health and international health policy and management (Harvard School of Public Health.) I then spent five years as a Visiting Scientist at the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, where I had the privilege of working with the experts who discovered the AIDS epidemic. In 1987, I moved from Atlanta to Washington, DC to join the Pan American Health Organization, Regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas (PAHO/WHO), which is the oldest international health organization in the world (founded in 1902.). I am currently living in Fairfax, VA, a city located 36 Km Southwest of Washington, DC.

GHMe: What is your connection to global health? / Where are you in your global health career currently?

Fernando Zacarías: My connection goes back many years, more than thirty by now. International health and global health have been my raison d’etre and the backbone of my professional career. During that time, I have travelled more than 2 million miles and provided technical cooperation to 39 countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere (I missed six very small territories in the Caribbean.) At PAHO, I was Chief of the Regional AIDS Program for 17 years, until my United Nations-mandated retirement in 2005. To my surprise, I was called back “to help” in several occasions and from 2005 to 2012, I was Acting Chief of Health Analysis and Statistics, Senior Policy Advisor on Family and Community Health, and Coordinator of the preparation and production of PAHO’s flagship publication “Health in the Americas”, Editions of 2007 and 2012. In December 2012, a group of former colleagues and I founded a not-for-profit organization, “Global Health International Advisors” (GHIA), based in WDC, which now has 80 members in 19 countries. GHIA functions as a think tank, and provides technical advice internationally. At present, I am GHIA’s Director of Operations in charge of project development. I am currently also working at PAHO, helping in the preparation of the Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections for the next six years (2016-2021.) So, basically I have worked in international health (and now in global health) since 1982, and expect to keep working in this field until the lights go out.

GHMe: Why are you interested in global health?

Fernando Zacarías: This might surprise you because it is unusual that an eight-year-old boy “commit” to becoming a doctor in order to work in international health (specifically at PAHO) at such a young age. There were three main reasons behind this decision: 1) At age 8, I read a book – a birthday present from my mother - on Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his work in Africa; this was the seed. 2) The example of my mother, the mother of eight children, who still found the time and energy to start an ambitious, ahead-of-its-time health and social program in Mexico City, to address mental health, elder health, women’s freedom and opportunities (women had no voting rights in Mexico at that time), street children’s needs, and a few other neglected health and social themes. She had the vision of what 40-50 years later became the social determinants approach to health. She talked to me and I listened. 3) The advice of “the first person I met in this world” (that’s what he used to say), my mother’s obstetrician, who many years later, supported my decision to become a doctor, to specialize in public health, and to join PAHO/WHO. It took me 33 years, but I did it. In a few words, my decision to enter the field was – at that time - a combination of idealism, respect, admiration, imagination, and innocence. I’m interested in global health because it’s because of what it is, because of what it does, and because of what it can - and will - do. There are dozens of definitions of global health, but this is the one I like: “Global Health is health without borders” “A comprehensive, multidisciplinary area of knowledge, policy and practice that seeks to improve individual and collective health across the world; achieve health equity; and contribute to socioeconomic development through collaborative transnational efforts and partnerships.” (F.Zacarias)

GHMe: What would you still like to achieve in your career in global health?

Fernando Zacarías: My main goal right now is to continue helping young people become stronger, wiser, and more skilled and competent. It is very rewarding to see “your” young student or professional “playing to win” and winning (e.g. getting a new job or an advanced degree, starting a new project, dissecting and solving an important problem, learning something unexpected, trying something new, making a big decision, acquiring self confidence, writing a proposal, etc.) My second goal is to have the opportunity to teach health policy and management to younger colleagues in charge of health and social programs across the world. I strongly believe that creative leadership and rational management dictate the success of any health project or program (or any enterprise, for that matter). “Lack of political power and money” is the complaint of many program directors; but in my long and rather diverse experience, “lack of political power and money” is not the problem. If you are a creative leader and a rational manager you’ll know how to get political support and resources. And you will get them, and you will be successful.

Fernando Zacarías: What made you originally interested in GHMe?

For two decades (perhaps much longer) I have had one or two younger colleagues or interns who have given me the opportunity to advance their professional growth. I have always mentored them face to face and without a time schedule or didactic program. My mentorship has always been organic, spontaneous, and flexible. I saw and read the request for applications to mentor at GHMe, and I jumped at the opportunity. What I found most attractive in GHMe was the program, the consortium of academic institutions and the network of young people interested in Global Health. I was very pleased when I was accepted.

GHMe: What is your experience of GHMe so far?

Fernando Zacarías: It has been priceless. I had never had 3 SYPs at the same time and in different time zones. GHMe gave me the opportunity to try something new by linking via Skype with three young people across the world. And it was great to be both a mentor and the liaison between SYPs with different knowledge, skills and backgrounds. I also liked the combination of technical themes, general knowledge, and the impromptu sessions on personal and professional issues and decisions. The only improvement I would advise is to make the program last longer (it was only 4.5 months – I would have preferred nine months)

GHMe: Could you tell us about how your small GHMe group is structured?

Fernando Zacarías: I had one young physician in Medellín, a young economist in Bogotá, and a young laboratory/basic sciences SYP from Suriname, based in Amsterdam. We met for one hour on a weekly basis (that’s what I usually do with my SYPs). Sometimes, we were four, sometimes three, and sometimes two, but at the end, it worked for all of us.

GHMe: How has GHMe supported your career vision and aims?

Fernando Zacarías: Quite well, as far as my goals for the next few years are concerned. It has been great to see how young people are receptive to both old and new ideas, and most importantly, how rapidly they progress in their critical and analytical thinking and their capacity to make decisions and solve problems.

GHMe: What have you learned so far about yourself and global health through GHMe?

Fernando Zacarías: That I’m useful in my role as a mentor and - judging from the quality of the SYPs I have met throughout the years - that global health is in good hands.

GHMe: What would you like to share for future GHMe mentors?

That mentoring goes beyond conventional teaching and gives you the opportunity to transfer the wisdom and experience that you have acquired throughout your life to a new generation of practitioners of global health. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. It’s one of the most satisfying experiences that you will ever have. Guaranteed.