UNC Gillings helps grow a global ecosystem for social innovation in health. May 14, 2026 Communities are often the first to identify what is not working in health systems - and the first to imagine better ways forward. At the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, a growing constellation of efforts is helping those community-driven ideas become stronger, more visible and more widely used. This spring, Carolina launched a new Collaborating Center on Social Innovation in Health, designated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The center will support community-engaged health innovation and research across the Americas and globally, with initial activities focused on strengthening vaccination uptake, improving access to sexual and reproductive health services, and supporting digital health innovations that reach underserved populations. Liz Chen, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School, co-directs the collaborating center with Joseph Tucker, MD, PhD, professor in the UNC School of Medicine. Both are also members of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID). "Communities are already innovating to solve urgent health challenges," Chen said. "Our role is to partner with them - bringing rigorous methods, global networks and sustained support to help these solutions reach more people." Tucker added, "This center reflects a growing recognition that equity requires new models of engagement. By working alongside communities, policymakers and practitioners, we can accelerate solutions that are both evidence-based and grounded in lived experience." Social innovation in health focuses on locally adapted solutions that strengthen health systems and expand access to care. These efforts often use participatory methods - such as crowdsourcing, co-design, "designathons" and rapid prototyping - to ensure that the people most affected by a health challenge help define the problem, shape the solution and evaluate whether it works. The collaborating center will work closely with PAHO country offices, WHO programs and a network of academic and community partners. Its priorities include advancing co-creation and community engagement; generating evidence to support adaptation and scale-up; strengthening capacity among early-career researchers, practitioners and community leaders; and translating proven innovations into policy and practice. "PAHO is pleased to partner with UNC to advance social innovation in health across the Americas," said Luis Gabriel Cuervo, senior adviser at PAHO. "This collaborating center will help translate community-driven ideas into scalable solutions that improve health outcomes." The PAHO/WHO designation also connects with another new effort at Carolina: the Social Innovation in Health Initiative UNC Hub, or SIHI-UNC. SIHI-UNC is part of the global Social Innovation in Health Initiative network, which advances community-engaged, equity-centered innovations through research, capacity strengthening and advocacy. The UNC Hub is the network's first hub in North America and links collaborators at UNC-Chapel Hill, across North Carolina and with SIHI partners worldwide. The hub is co-directed by Chen, Tucker and Weiming Tang, MD, PhD, of the UNC School of Medicine and IGHID. As Chen describes it, SIHI-UNC offers a platform to bring together work that is already happening across campus while creating more structure for shared learning. The hub will support researchers and practitioners who want to apply social innovation in their work and teaching. Planned activities include building a SIHI-UNC directory, hosting quarterly network forums, producing "InnoBites" short video learning tools, offering rapid prototyping workshops, developing shared metrics and indicators, and creating impact dashboards to track what works. Chen and her team are also selecting a cohort of SIHI Fellows for a six-month period. The fellows program will help participants deepen their understanding of social innovation in health while contributing to a growing network of people using participatory approaches to solve real-world health challenges. At Gillings, this work also connects to teaching and learning. Chen is interested in how faculty can learn from one another about what helps students succeed, especially in large courses and other complex teaching environments. By treating teaching itself as a site for innovation, SIHI-UNC can help faculty share practical strategies, study what works and build support structures that benefit departments, schools and the broader University. Together, the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center and SIHI-UNC Hub position Carolina as a leader in a field that is both deeply local and fundamentally global. As social innovation in health continues to grow, Chen and UNC Gillings are helping create the conditions for more ideas to move from communities to classrooms, from research to practice and from local insight to global impact. Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at [email protected]. RELATED PAGES Use this form to submit news, events and announcements to be shared via our newsletter and digital screens. View and download the visual elements associated with the Gillings School. For the use of our faculty, staff and students, the School offers the following PowerPoint template, which can be modified as needed. This form allows faculty and staff to create a new web profile or update a current one. CONTACT INFORMATION Contact [email protected] with any media inquiries or general questions. Communications and Marketing Office 125 Rosenau Hall 135 Dauer Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400

PAHO supports regional dialogue on equitable cancer care at ICCGIP 2026 in Grenada. 3 min. read The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) participated in the International Conference on Cancer in Geographically Isolated Populations (ICCGIP), held in Grenada on 20 March 2026 under the theme "Medical Travel for Cancer Care - Navigating Access, Quality, and Equity." The conference brought together regional and international stakeholders to examine the challenges and opportunities associated with delivering cancer care in small island and geographically isolated settings. Dr Taraleen Malcolm, Advisor for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, delivered opening remarks on behalf of Dr Amalia Del Riego, PAHO/WHO Representative to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, reaffirming PAHO's commitment to supporting Member States in strengthening equitable access to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. In her address, Dr Malcolm highlighted the realities faced by many Caribbean patients, noting that cancer care often requires travel beyond national borders due to limited specialised services and small population sizes. While medical travel can be lifesaving, she emphasised that it frequently imposes significant financial, administrative, and emotional burdens on patients and their families. These challenges, she noted, can deepen existing inequities, particularly for vulnerable populations. Dr Malcolm called for a coordinated regional response rooted in a people-centred approach. This includes strengthening early detection and referral systems within countries, improving coordination and quality assurance for care accessed abroad, and ensuring continuity of care upon patients' return home. She further stressed the importance of expanding collaboration across countries, including service-sharing arrangements, tele-oncology, and investments in a well-supported health workforce to gradually reduce dependence on overseas care. Joining the conference virtually, Dr Frederique Dorleans, Advisor, Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity and Focal point for the French Territories of the Americas, at the PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, contributed to discussions by highlighting the existing expertise and capacity for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe. She emphasised the potential for these territories to serve as important partners in regional collaboration. Dr Dorleans also outlined PAHO's role in fostering stronger cooperation across the Caribbean, including facilitating the sharing of best practices, supporting knowledge exchange, and promoting more integrated approaches to cancer care delivery. These efforts are aligned with PAHO's broader mandate to advance equitable health outcomes and strengthen health systems resilience across the Region of the Americas. Dr Del Riego, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries said, "Conferences like ICCGIP provide an essential platform for countries to exchange experiences and build collaborative, people-centred approaches to cancer care ensuring that equity and quality remain central, even in small islands developing settings." The conference provided a valuable platform for aligning policy, practice, and partnerships to address the unique challenges of cancer care in small island developing states. PAHO's participation reinforced its commitment to working with countries and partners to ensure that geographic isolation does not determine cancer outcomes, and that all people have access to timely, quality, and equitable care. NOW Grenada is not responsible for the opinions, statements or media content presented by contributors. In case of abuse, click here to report. Please enter your valid email address. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PAHO and the Pasteur Network sign Letter of Intent to strengthen regional health security. 06 April 2026 Americas Lyon, France - April 6th, 2026 - The Pasteur Network and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have formalised a new framework for scientific collaboration at the One Health Summit in Lyon (5-7 April 2026), an international event dedicated to advancing the One Health approach. The agreement aims to strengthen scientific collaboration and reinforce public health capacities throughout the Americas. Responding to climate-driven health risks Climate variability is increasingly shaping the spread and intensity of communicable diseases. The two organisations will expand cooperation to better understand these dynamics - enhancing surveillance systems, generating evidence on climate-disease interactions, building technical capacity, and supporting the development of climate-informed public health policies. Strengthening integrated arboviral disease control Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika continue to pose a growing threat across the region. The partnership will reinforce integrated epidemiological, entomological, and environmental surveillance, strengthen laboratory and genomic capacities, support innovative vector control strategies, and build out early warning and rapid response systems. Advancing regional vaccine manufacturing and health technologies The collaboration aims to build a sustainable, interconnected ecosystem for vaccine development and production in the Americas - covering technology transfer, regulatory strengthening, and capacity-building, aligned with global efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines and health technologies. A framework for sustained collaboration Through this Letter of Intent, the two organisations will coordinate joint activities, align engagement with regional stakeholders, identify resource mobilisation opportunities, designate focal points, and hold regular consultations to monitor implementation and explore new areas of cooperation. The agreement reflects the importance of integrated, multisectoral approaches in strengthening preparedness for emerging and re-emerging public health threats. About PAHO. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), founded in 1902, is the world's oldest international public health agency. It provides technical cooperation and mobilizes partnerships to improve health and quality of life in the countries of the Americas. PAHO is the specialized health agency of the Inter-American System and serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). Together with WHO, PAHO is a member of the United Nations system. For more information: https://www.paho.org/en About the Pasteur Network. The Pasteur Network is an alliance of 32 organisations playing a crucial role in tackling global health challenges through science, innovation, and public health. Its distinctive strength lies in the diversity and extensive geographic reach of its membership, spanning 25 countries across five continents, united by shared values and a common mission for the benefit of populations. The Network fosters a dynamic community of scientific knowledge and expertise that is both locally embedded and globally connected. For more information: https://pasteur-network.org