The Barcelona Global Healthcare Institute (ISGlobal-Barcelona) was officially created yesterday, as representatives from the two founding parties signed an agreement in the presence of a notary public at the headquarters of "la Caixa". Following this act, the board held its first meeting, whose attendees included Isidre Fainé, president of "la Caixa"; Trinidad Jiménez, Spanish minister of Health; Juan López-Dóriga Pérez, general director of Development Policy Planning and Evaluation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; Marina Geli, Catalan minister of Health; Jaume Lanaspa, general director of "la Caixa" Foundation; Infanta Cristina, director of the International Department of "la Caixa" Foundation; Raimon Belenes, CEO of Hospital Clínic; and Dídac Ramírez, rector of the University of Barcelona.
The Board formally named Infanta Cristina as president, Javier Solana -who participated via videoconference- as vice president and Dr. Pedro Alonso as director.
The new institute will soon begin operating from Palau Macaya, in Barcelona, which served as Fundació la Caixa’s cultural headquarters until 2003.
The Barcelona Global Healthcare Institute aims to help ameliorate global health via the development, management, divulgation and application of high quality knowledge in the field of global health. It will emphasize the world’s least favored populations, striving to break the cycle of poverty and ill health, which is one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals for world health. Institut de Salut Global de Barcelona will collaborate with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, and celebrities such as Graça Machel.
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