University of Washington Department of Global Health

Global Organizations

by Region

Latin America & The Caribbean

University of Washington

Latin America Studies Program, (LAS) is an interdisciplinary, undergraduate degree program within the UW Jackson School of International Studies. LAS offers both a major and a minor, as well as events, resources and study abroad opportunities open to students in other programs. Faculty and courses are drawn from diverse departments across campus.
Latin American History resources; UW library as well as this link for Latin American Studies.

Spanish and Portuguese Studies, includes information about undergraduate and graduate courses, programs, faculty as well as campus language resources. Students have the opportunity to participate in a project of "Service Learning", in which they will combine study with service to the community. The students must volunteer 2-5 hours a week- i.e., a minimum of 20 hours per trimester-- in organizations that provide services primarily, although not exclusively, to Spanish speakers, mgill@u.washington.edu.

American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington is a multicultural and multiracial research and teaching unit, dedicated to providing knowledge in the study of race and ethnicity. Through the department's three curricula -- Afro-American Studies, Asian/Pacific American Studies, and Chicano Studies -- students learn interdisciplinary, ethnic-specific, and comparative concepts, theories, and methods of inquiry, which shape the cultural, literary, social, historical, economic, and political character of selected American ethnic communities.

Seattle Area

Agros Foundation
Agros currently supports fifteen developing communities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Since 1982, Agros' efforts have equipped over 3000 people to break free from poverty. The Agros Foundation is recognized by the United Nations for providing lasting solutions to poverty in Central America.

CASA Latina: Centro de Ayuda Solidaria a los Amigos is a community-based organization located in Seattle, Washington, that empowers Latino immigrants through educational and employment opportunities.

El Centro de la Raza has sought to empower many people and to encourage their participation in basic social change. The provision of a wide range of survival services alone would be a temporary relief for deep societal wounds; it does not address the root of poverty, discrimination, alienation and despair. El Centro de la Raza strives to use social, cultural, educational and civic activities as vehicles to bring together peoples of all races and refuses to separate economic activities from social and human service. The organization combines a strong sense of self-esteem and connectedness to one's family and culture with active participation in community affairs. It has developed an extensive network-locally, nationally and internationally-to join diverse peoples, with common problems, in search of effective solutions.

Washington State/Chile Partners of the Americas are Washingtonians with a desire to build and sustain community between the people and institutions of Washington State and our partner country Chile. Our chapter of Partners of the Americas has been active since 1985.

International

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency with 100 years of experience in working to improve health and living standards of the countries of the Americas. It serves as the specialized organization for health of the Inter-American System. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization and enjoys international recognition as part of the United Nations system. Includes links to Ministry of Health websites for the region.

Partners in Health (PIH) mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair. We run innovative programs combating AIDS and women's health problems in rural Haiti, groundbreaking tuberculosis treatment projects in the prisons of Siberia, and the shantytowns of urban Peru, training programs for community health workers in Chiapas, Mexico, community-based mental health outreach in highland Guatemala, and a novel violence-prevention curriculum in inner-city Boston, USA.

Partners of the Americas (Partners) is a network of citizens from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States, who volunteer to work together to improve the lives of people across the region, through nonpolitical, community-based activities. Besides providing technical assistance and training to communities in Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S., Partners' network of volunteers promote collaboration in the region's social and economic development through working relationships among professionals and institutions across the hemisphere.

World Bank, Latin America & the Caribbean
The World Bank Group serves 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of staggering diversity. The region is home to 525 million people, who speak Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and some 400 indigenous languages. Three-quarters of the region's people live in and around cities, making it the most urbanized region in the developing world. Natural resources and agriculture are nevertheless important to the region's economies. Despite immense resources and dynamic societies, deep poverty and gaping inequality persist in the region.

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