SIHI LAC at Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas (CIDEIM)
We catalyze the integration of experience, resources and knowledge to build inter-sectorial capacity and evidence for social innovation in health.
OUR FOCUS
SIHI LAC was launched in May 2017 as a collaboration between Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas (CIDEIM), Universidad Icesi, and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). Based in Cali, Colombia, our Hub serves the Latin American and Caribbean Region (LAC).
CIDEIM is the host institution, a Colombian research and training centre devoted to the reduction of impact of infectious diseases of poverty. Universidad Icesi is a university in Colombia with research experience in social innovation, human centered design and entrepreneurship. PAHO is the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Americas, providing the hub a regional perspective and policy framework.
Our focus areas are:
IDENTIFY & INVESTIGATE
We identify initiatives and conduct research to generate awareness and new knowledge about social innovation in health in the LAC region
CONVENE & GUIDE
We promote stakeholder articulation for collaborative learning and sustainable social transformation in health
PROMOTE APPROPRIATION
We develop tools and/or mechanisms to strengthen community-based research in order to improve implementation, sustainability, and impact of Social Innovation in Health in the LAC region
OUR ACTIVITIES
CROWDSOURCING CALL FOR SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH EQUITY
Thanks to the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and to the collaborative work between the SIHI LAC Hub, the Honduras Hub, and PAHO, we hold calls for proposals every two years to identify and highlight social innovation initiatives to improve health in the Latin American and Caribbean region. These calls aim to make visible and promote social innovation efforts that are generating a positive and transformative impact on the health of our communities in the region.
The last call in 2023 focused on identifying and recognizing social innovations in health that have contributed significantly to closing the equity gap in access to health services. In this edition, three outstanding innovations were recognized, and two honorable mentions were awarded.
Learn more about these calls here.
Learn about the results of our latest 2023 call.
Social Innovation and Intercultural Health
The SIHI LAC Hub regularly convenes Intercultural Social Innovation in Health encounters, creating spaces for dialogue and knowledge exchange among social innovators, Indigenous leaders, representatives from the government sector, and other strategic allies. These encounters foster collective reflection on the challenges and opportunities to improve access to and quality of healthcare in intercultural contexts, while valuing diverse knowledge systems and community-based solutions.
Through these spaces, the Hub strengthens collaboration among key actors, promotes shared learning, and advances its mission to support innovative, inclusive, and sustainable approaches that contribute to health equity across the region. Read the report from the most recent intercultural encounter here.
Case study research
Our team of researchers has developed 8 case studies through a rigorous research process, visiting some of the selected social innovations, collecting data from different sources to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the case, and writing a comprehensive narrative. Innovators are invited to be part of the research process. These case studies include audiovisual products such as short films. Learn more about these case studies here.
SOCIAL INNOVATION NETWORK IN LAC
ALACISS (Latin American and Caribbean Alliance for Social Innovation in Health) is a community of innovators and allies committed to supporting and advancing Social Innovation in Health in the region. Its members work collaboratively and learn from each other to drive social innovation and improve the health of the most vulnerable communities.
The SIHI LAC Community is a network of people interested in Social Innovation in Health in the region. By joining, you can access news, events, educational resources and participate in discussions and collaborative projects. If you are interested, please complete the registration form.
ALACISS Network
Capacity Building
We have designed and led the following courses and workshops to strengthen key competencies around social innovation in health, offering effective tools and methodologies for community work, collaboration, and communication.
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) – Provides tools for working with communities, highlighting the importance of democratizing knowledge to reduce social inequity in health with an intersectoral impact. Learn more about this course here.
Workshop on Collaborative Initiatives in Social Innovation in Health in Latin America and the Caribbean – Utilizes the Design Thinking methodology to generate social innovation proposals in health through processes of divergence and convergence. Learn more here.
Strengthening Communication and Dissemination Capacities in Support of SIHI Innovations – This workshop aims to strengthen collaboration networks, identify opportunities and barriers in communication strategies, and design new communication strategies for innovations.
Massive open online course (MOOC) on implementation research: infectious diseases of poverty – This online course teaches how to design implementation research (IR) projects to overcome barriers in public health, ensuring that interventions reach those who need them and generating the expected results. Learn more here.
Effective project planning and evaluation in health research – This course aims to develop strong research planning and effective implementation and monitoring, for health research projects. This is a hands-on training activity where participants will learn by doing and reflecting on the development of their own projects. Learn more here.
Community engagement learning package – SIHI LAC and the SIHI Honduras hub participated in a global project led by SIHI Philippines to develop a Community Engagement (CE) Package. This resource collects best practices for CE, aiming to build capacity and facilitate the integration of CE into public health. See more here.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
We have consolidated a multidisciplinary internship program that promotes the generation of knowledge, the training of young people in social innovation from different disciplines, the co-creation of educational materials, field work for community research, and the Social Appropriation of Knowledge. The SIHI LAC Hub has the following national and international interns:
National Interns:
- Luisa Fernanda Duque (Political sciences) (2018)
- Adrian Fernandez (Epidemiology) (2018)
- Angie Vanessa Salguero (Psychology) (2019)
- Luis Felipe Parra (Psychology) (2019)
- Juan Paulo Ruiz (Public Health) (2019)
- Luis Felipe Parra (Social Sciences) (2020)
- Kathleen Agudelo (Social Communication) (2019)
- Cesar Vargas (Medical doctor) (2021)
- Jeniffer Paola Estrella (Social communication) (2021)
- Ángela Karina Sarria (Physiotherapist) (2023)
- Gustavo Adolfo Llano (Economist) (2023)
- Valentina Delgado (Anthropology and political science) (2024)
International Interns:
- Emmanuela Oppong (Biomedical Engineering) (2019)
- Priyanka Shrestha (Global Health) (2019)
- Diana Quintero (Business administration) (2021)
AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS PRODUCED BY THE HUB
Below are a variety of audiovisual materials created by the SIHI LAC Hub. These materials highlight its work, efforts and initiatives in social innovation in health recognized in the region. Through these resources, you can learn more about SIHI LAC and the positive impact it is having on communities, explore and discover how we are contributing to the advancement of social innovation in health in the region!
Virtual Café Webinar
The Virtual Café is a bimonthly webinar organized by the Social Innovation in Health Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (SIHI LAC Hub) with support from Honduras Hub (dissemination, moderation chat). Its main objective is to bring together people and institutions from different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to exchange ideas and experiences of social innovation in health, and to generate a collective learning space around the topic and other related topics such as community health, digital health, crowdfunding, community-based methodologies, among others.
You can watch all our Virtual Coffee webinars here.
Social Appropriation of Knowledge
We have a collection of relevant scientific articles on social innovation in health written by innovators, team members, and allies of the SIHI LAC Hub. This collection offers valuable insights and knowledge about our research, projects, and experiences in the field. Delve deeper into how social innovation is transforming health in our communities here.
Strengthening Partnerships
Social Appropriation of Knowledge (SAK) is the process by which knowledge generated by scientific research is integrated and used in society. This process, which is part of Colombian public policy, involves the active participation of the community in the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge, promoting a two-way exchange between researchers and society to solve problems and improve quality of life.
SAK and social innovation are closely related. This is why we have strengthened our capacities in SAK through various activities such as research, participation in diverse courses, and the organization of introductory workshops.
As a result, we have co-created with some of the communities where we work pedagogical materials that have been designed to be accessible, useful, and relevant, to promote health in those communities.
These are some of the products we have developed:
GENDER AND SOCIAL INNOVATION
Sex and gender are key factors that influence access to products and services for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, directly impacting health outcomes.
In this section, you will find resources developed by TDR that seek to strengthen the capacities of researchers in low- and middle-income countries to ensure that research takes an inclusive approach, adequately integrating sex, gender, and their intersection with other determinants of health inequalities.
SOCIAL INNOVATION IN HEALTH: LESSONS FOR MOVING TOWARDS EQUITY
SIHI LAC has participated in various national and international events to showcase its efforts in social innovation in health.
In 2024, our hub participated in Catalysing Change Week, organized by Catalyst 2030. During this meeting, we joined colleagues from more than 120 countries to build an efficient social innovation system, and presented on “Social Innovation in Health as a Catalyst for Change.” From our hub, María Isabel Echavarría Mejía, Diana Maria Castro, and Luis Gabriel Cuervo Amore shared local initiatives that are transforming the healthcare landscape in the region.
Watch the session here.
In addition, SIHI LAC and our allies, including the Honduras node and PAHO, have organized meetings to foster collaborative work and cross-learning. The latest meeting, sponsored by PAHO, was held in Washington D.C., where the three outstanding innovations of the PAHO-SIHI LAC 2023 Call for Proposals were awarded and central elements of social innovation in health were discussed. View the event report here.
In 2025, the SIHI LAC Hub, together with PAHO and regional allies, contributed to the launch of the publication Social Innovation in Health: Lessons for Advancing Equity. An Anthology of Experiences in Latin America. The anthology brings together 17 community-led social innovation in health experiences from across the region, highlighting how collaborative, locally driven initiatives are advancing health equity and strengthening people-centered health systems. View the publication here.
SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH IN LAC
Centre for the Development of Scientific Research (CEDIC)
Comprehensive Health Approach for Chagas Disease in Comapa
E-Silver
Eco-health approach to fight Chagas disease
El Canto del Tucan
Extramural Vaccine Strategy
Indigenous Health Agent Professionalization Programme in the Alto Rio Negro Region
Integrated Care Model for Rural Areas
Joven Salud.Net
MAMÁS DEL RÍO
MosquitiaMed
Santiago Utz Ruwaach
Zika Kids
ABOUT US
NANCY GORE SARAVIA
Project Leader
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Dr. Nancy Saravia, is the leader of the LAC Hub and the Director of the Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas (CIDEIM) in Cali, Colombia.
The promotion and development of research capacity has been a core focus of her career. This has involved international partnerships to build local and regional research and training capacities through interdisciplinary investigation on tropical infectious diseases. Dr. Saravia is a biologist who holds a Doctorate degree in Microbiology from Vanderbilt University.
VALENTINA BECERRA
Communication Specialist
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Valentina is a social communicator and journalist, specialist in strategic communication. Her main focus is to highlight both the hub activities and results and the various innovations that are part of the network. Valentina is in charge of establishing assertive communication with innovators and generating strategies to advance the Social Innovation in Health network in the region.
From the field of communication, her contribution also focuses on the visibility and effective dissemination of relevant information that promotes the social appropriation of knowledge t the institutional and regional level.
MARIA ISABEL ECHAVARRIA
Project Coordinator
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Maria Isabel (MPH) is the current coordinator of the SIHI LAC Hub at CIDEIM. She holds a masters in global health form the University of Washington and has experience working with the private and public sector as trainer and consultant in public health programs, and more recently, in public health and community based research projects.
Maria is also leading efforts to strengthen capacity and advance implementation research in the LAC region involving researchers, implementers, policy makers as well as communities across different sectors.
Through her diverse experience working at the research and training interface, in and with public and private health programs, local communities and large corporations, she has developed skills to facilitate the process of knowledge transfer, community engagement and public-private partnerships. She is passionate about doing research and training in public health areas as well as working to promote intersectorial communication and cooperation around health research and to advance community-engaged social innovation in health.
Valentina Delgado
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Valentina Delgado Jaramillo is an Administrative Assistant at the SIHI LAC Hub, where she supports the coordination, logistics, and strategic planning of the initiative. With a background in Anthropology and Political Science from Icesi University, she has experience in research and knowledge appropriation strategies.
Her work focuses on strengthening collaborations, supporting project implementation, and contributing to the sustainability of the Hub. She has been involved in monitoring and evaluation, digital communication, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that social innovation initiatives in health have a lasting impact across Latin America and the Caribbean.
DIANA MARÍA CASTRO-ARROYAVE
Senior Advisor, Academic Advisor
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Key Partners
LUIS GABRIEL CUERVO
Senior Advisor-PAHO
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Dr. Luis Gabriel Cuervo is a senior advisor to the LAC Hub. Having been an advisor to the Global SIHI initiative since its launch, he is passionate about using knowledge for health, and is a champion to promoting social innovation in health.
As PAHO’s Senior Advisor for Research Promotion and Development, he coordinated the development of the Policy on Research for Health (2009) and now supports its implementation and monitoring. He also coordinated the Americas regional contributions to WHO’s Strategy on Research for Health (World Health Assembly, 2010). Luis Gabriel was a pioneer with the Cochrane Collaboration in Colombia, consulted WHO in the evidence-informed harmonization of the interagency lists for reproductive health, supported the internationalization and growth of BMJ’s Clinical Evidence as a Senior Clinical Editor, and developed a partnership between Clinical Evidence and Cochrane.
LUIS FERNANDO BARÓN
Advisor-Icesi University
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Luis Fernando Baron has studies in Communication and Anthropology. He has a Ph.D. in Information Sciences, at the University of Washington, Seattle. His research spans such diverse areas as social movements, ICT and identities; memories, public opinion; social change and development, and, immigration and information. He is currently researching on memories of the armed conflict and peace by coffee farmers and he is also working in a project of women empowerment in the Pacific region. His work is strength on local and regional perspective as well as qualitative and ethnographical approaches and in mixed methods. He is an associative professor of the Communication Department at Icesi University, Colombia.
JUAN CARLOS JIMENEZ GARCIA
Advisor
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CONTACT US
If you are interested to become part of SIHI LAC or join our activities, please contact: