The Carlos Slim Foundation grants the “2014 Carlos Slim Health Awards” to individuals and institutions with outstanding research credentials in the health sector.

Mexico City, March 26-27, 2014.

• The winners of the 2014 Carlos Slim Health Awards are presented
  Mexico City, March 26, 2014.
• Carlos Slim Foundation supports health programs that ameliorate the quality of life of mexican and Latin American people.
  Mexico City, March 27, 2014.
• Photos

The winners of the 2014 Carlos Slim Health Awards are presented.
Mexico City, March 26, 2014.

• Dr. Mercedes Juan, Mexico’s federal government Health Secretary and Mr. Carlos Slim will personally present the Award to this year’s victors coming from Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru and Mexico.
• The award to an Outstanding Research Career recognizes developments on antidotes against scorpion stings, a Mexican and worldwide public health problem.
• The Exceptional Institution Award is granted in recognition to an innovative and inclusive Latin American initiative providing access to health services in rural and indigenous communities.

During the last 7 years, the Carlos Slim Health Institute has been granting two awards in recognition to persons and institutions developing innovative, sustainable and replicable alternatives to solve Mexico and Latin America’s main health problems.

Winners of the 2014 edition received their award from the hands of Dr. Mercedes Juan López, Mexico’s federal government Secretary of Health and Mr. Carlos Slim Helú, on March 27 in the Soumaya Museum.

• The award to an Outstanding Research Career recognizes the professional contribution of a scientist that has committed his life to improve the health conditions of the population. This year, the jury has rewarded Dr. Lourival Domingos Possani Postay, professor in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) since 1974, and emeritus researcher at UNAM’s Institute of Biotechnology. Dr. Possani is an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in the USA, as well as at the Italian Scientific Research Council’s, Institute of Biophysics and Cybernetics.

His research has focused on the study of scorpion venoms, analyzing the components behind their toxicity as well as their genetic structure. Worldwide, it is estimated that scorpions sting almost 2 million persons. In Mexico alone, the figure amounts to 300 thousand. Thanks to the use of antidotes like the ones developed by Dr. Possani, mortal cases have been limited to less than 100.

Dr. Possani’s findings have been published in over 300 articles in prestigious scientific journals, which are now consulted worldwide. Furthermore, Dr. Possani has registered 79 invention patents, confirming his personal quest for innovation in the health sector.

Dr. Possani became a Mexican national in 1970 after having studied Natural History at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. He has a PhD in molecular biophysics from the University of Paris and postdoctoral studies in New York’s Rockefeller University and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

• The Exceptional Institution Award pays homage to the work done by a non-profit organization in the academic, research and applied knowledge fields, offering innovative alternatives in the health sector. This year’s award is granted to the Medicus Mundi network for their work in Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru. Medicus Mundi is a private non-profit association created in Spain 50 years ago and working in Latin America since 1970. It aims at providing better health services to marginalized sectors of the population, most notably in rural and indigenous communities.

Medicus Mundi applies research into practical actions in the field, thus improving access to basic health services. Their work is provided in partnership with public authorities so as to reinforce national health priorities. Activities promote community involvement, the incorporation of traditional medicine practices and intercultural awareness. An important emphasis is given to preventive health practices in topics such as maternal health and vaccines.

Medicus Mundi has contributed to dramatically reduce, and in some cases eradicate, maternal and childbirth mortality in the rural areas where they operate. On behalf of their association, Dr. Javier Roman from Bolivia, Dr. Juan Carlos Verdugo from Guatemala and Dr. Fernando Carbone from Peru, came to Mexico to receive the Award.

Since its creation and for the past 7 years, the Carlos Slim Health Awards have received 736 nominations from 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Proposals are evaluated by a jury of renowned experts in several fields related to the health sector. Alongside the recognition provided by the Award itself, winners in each category receive a US $ 100,000 cash prize.

With these Awards, the Carlos Slim Health Institute recognizes and promotes the work of those who, individually or collectively, have dedicated their lives to solve the health problems of Latin America, especially those affecting the most vulnerable sectors of the population, and thus helping more people to live better and more.

About the Carlos Slim Foundation

Created in 1986 to provide high impact programs focused at the most vulnerable segments of society, the Carlos Slim Foundation has benefited over 36 million people.  Based on a high sense of social responsibility, efficiency and opportunity, the Foundation supports initiatives in the following sectors:  education, health, nutrition, social justice, culture, human development, natural disaster relief, economic development, environmental protection and conservation.  Its programs contribute to improve the quality of life of persons in all age groups, fostering human capital development and providing opportunities for the integral growth of individuals and their communities.www.carlosslim.com/responsabilidad.html#carso

As an integral part of the Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute strives to generate alternatives to resolve the main public health problems affecting the most vulnerable segments of society in Mexico and Latin America. www.salud.carlosslim.org

Carlos Slim Foundation supports health programs that ameliorate the quality of life of mexican and Latin American people.
Mexico City, March 27, 2014.

• Exceptional achievements have been accomplished in maternal health, chronic disease attention and prevention, genomic research and health education.
• Awards are granted to outstanding individuals and institutions that have excelled in fostering real benefits for the population.

The Carlos Slim Foundation organized the “Health Actions 2014” event where it presented its achievements for the year 2013. During the event Mrs. Mercedes Juan López, Mexican Secretary of Health, Mr. Carlos Slim Helú, Mr. Marco Antonio Slim Domit and Mr. Roberto Tapia Conyer granted the 2014 Carlos Slim Health Awards to recognize an outstanding career in health research to an individual and to an institution. The individual winner was Dr. Lourival Possani, emeritus researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for his work in the development of antidotes against scorpion stings. The institutional winner was the organization Medicus Mundi, a network supporting the improvement of public health services in Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru.

Marco Antonio Slim Domit, Chairman of the Carlos Slim Foundation, underlined that the only effective way to combat poverty is through employment, and this is why education and health are so important. This the reason behind the Foundation’s quest to generate innovative health solutions based on the use of technologies and scientific evidence particularly focused in preventing and diminishing the risks of disease. These solutions have already benefited millions of persons.

Mr. Roberto Tapia Conyer, Director of the Carlos Slim Foundation, described some of the Foundation’s most important activities in the health sector:

• Development and implementation of an effective health model that contributes to transform the paradigm of prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment of chronic disease. This model is already part of the National Strategy against Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes that was launched in October 2013 by Mexico’s Health Secretariat. The model is operating in 12 Mexican States through 193 units. By the end of 2015 it is expected that the model be applied in all health centers across the country.
• Design and application of a model to reduce maternal and childbirth mortality rates. This model is also being applied by the Secretariat of Health focusing in 138 Mexican municipalities with a high rate of maternal deaths.
• Solutions are being offered to overcome the lack of health services in 20% of the poorest segments of society in the State of Chiapas as well as in other seven Central American countries, with particular focus on rural and indigenous communities. Among other actions, the Foundation has provided modern equipment to local clinics, nutritional supplements and training to personnel. With this, the Foundation has benefited over 1 million women in reproductive age and 700 thousand children 5 years old and less. This initiative is offered in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the governments of the Mesoamerican countries and the State of Chiapas.
• Research in genomic sciences has focused in discovering and analyzing the genes that cause diabetes and cancer, so as to transform current medical practice more into preventive actions. Among the achievements, one can note the discovery of a particular gene that increases 25 to 50 percent the possibilities of diabetes in Mexican and Latin American societies. Another important finding regards common genetic alterations in several types of cancer affecting these populations, particularly breast and cervical cancers. The next step is to develop a technological microchip containing all this information so as to use it to improve prevention and timely diagnosis. This project is being carried out in partnership with Harvard University’s Broad Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Genomic Medicine Institute and the Salvador Zubiran National Institute of Medical and Nutritional Sciences, among others.
• The partnership between the Carlos Slim Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other leaders has been instrumental in the fight against polio around the world. Donations have been granted to the Global Initiative to Eradicate Polio, a disease that is still present in Asia and Africa and that continues to be a potential danger to the rest of the world.
• Re-engineering of the web portal CLIKISalud.net, an educational and communication platform offering evidence-based useful information as well as interactive tools and practical tips to promote prevention, self-help and healthy living habits.

“It has been very important for us to engage in strategic alliances with public, private and social institutions with whom we share a vision and a commitment towards the population’s wellbeing”, mentioned Mr. Marco Antonio Slim.

At the closing of the event, Dr. Mercedes Juan stressed that “as part of the National Strategy to Prevent Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes”, launched by the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, on October 31, 2013, the Carlos Slim Health Institute has been contributing to implement an integral attention model aiming at the improvement of attention and effective coverage in health services. Today, we are already working in 12 Mexican States and we will reach the 32 States by the end of the year.”

About the Carlos Slim Foundation

Created in 1986 to provide high impact programs focused at the most vulnerable segments of society, the Carlos Slim Foundation has benefited over 36 million people. Based on a high sense of social responsibility, efficiency and opportunity, the Foundation supports initiatives in the following sectors: education, health, nutrition, social justice, culture, human development, natural disaster relief, economic development, environmental protection and conservation. Its programs contribute to improve the quality of life of persons in all age groups, fostering human capital development and providing opportunities for the integral growth of individuals and their communities.

As an integral part of the Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute strives to generate alternatives to resolve the main public health problems affecting the most vulnerable segments of society in Mexico and Latin America. www.salud.carlosslim.org
www.salud.carlosslim.org