Global Health Fellows Visit the Pan American Health Organization

by Lisa Eckenwiler, director, Global Health Fellows program

Global Health Fellows Visit the Pan American Health Organization

The Global Health Fellows' semester culminated in a site visit to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) headquarters in Washington, D.C. There, Carla Saenz, PAHO's Bioethics Advisor (who earned her PhD in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin), led us on a tour of the organization and explained its history and ethical foundations.

After the tour, Dr. Saenz engaged the fellows in a wide-ranging discussion of the origins of her position as PAHO's Bioethics Advisor, the ethical challenges she faces, and how she uses her knowledge and expertise as a philosopher in her own work and in her collaboration with other nations’ ministries of health, academics, diplomats, and others. She noted what she counts among her accomplishments and how she would like to see her work at PAHO grow. The fellows had an opportunity to talk with Dr. Saenz about their own research projects as well as their internships. Our visit ended with a festive Chinese lunch!