The Ministry of Public Health (MSP) co-hosted the opening of the second cohort of the Training Program in Informatics and Data Science for Health (IDASH) in South America on November 17, 2025. The event took place in Quito and was organized by the International Training and Education Center for Health at the University of Washington (UW I-TECH), in partnership with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and supported by the State Graduate University (IAEN).
IDASH aims to train current and future leaders in public health. The program, which expanded to South America in 2024, now brings together representatives from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru for its second regional cohort.
Minister of Public Health Jimmy Martin emphasized the importance of technical excellence among governments to achieve shared health outcomes. “Ecuador has the great responsibility to carry out this work plan. (…) The health systems of the future do not depend only on infrastructure or technology. They depend on capable people who are committed and willing to collaborate. Each one of you represents that capacity and commitment,” said Minister Martin.
The IDASH program seeks to strengthen regional capacity to use public health information systems and data, improve population health outcomes, reinforce epidemiological surveillance, and enable effective detection and response to public health threats.
Lawrence Petroni, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States, highlighted that this training program marks significant progress in using data for public health decision-making under MSP leadership. “The commitment of the United States is deep to support capacities in health systems, in order to build a better future,” he stated.
Matt Lozier, CDC representative in Ecuador, expressed his honor at leading and launching IDASH’s second cohort in South America. He noted high expectations for a meaningful impact across all participating countries.
Fernanda Magalhaes Freistadt, Regional Director of the IDASH Project for South America, underscored the value of these training spaces for developing new projects, programs, and health indicators aimed at strengthening healthcare networks.
Carlos Jácome, Rector of IAEN, welcomed participants and thanked MSP for choosing IAEN as host institution. He affirmed academia’s commitment to improving public health systems through such exchanges.
