Regional Task Force: Latin America and the Caribbean

Publications of the Latin America and the Caribbean Task Force express the findings, results, and views of members of the Latin America and the Caribbean Task Force. They do not reflect the findings, results, and views of Commissioners not engaged on the Task Force or of the Lancet family of journals or other publication outlets unless explicitly specified. The Latin America and the Caribbean Task Force does not contribute to other publications or statements issued by the Lancet COVID-19 Commission or the Task Forces or to other publications in the Lancet family of journals or other publication outlets, unless explicitly specified.

Task Force members serve in their individual capacities, on an honorary basis. The Secretariat of the Latin America and the Caribbean Task Force is hosted by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), Columbia University. 

Task Force Publications:

Dr. Alejandro Gaviria (Co-chair) President, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)

Alejandro Gaviria completed his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the Antioquia School of Engineering (Universidad EIA). He also has a master’s degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes and a PhD in Economics from the University of California San Diego. The President is an Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes. After having served as Dean of the School of Economics at Los Andes for six years, he was nominated by former President Santos as Colombia’s Minister of Health and Social Protection, a role which he occupied from 2012 until 2018. MORE

Ms. Gabriela Ramos (Co-chair)
Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO (France)

Gabriela Ramos is Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO. Gabriela previously served as the OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20 and in this capacity supports the Secretary General’s strategic leadership and ensures that the Organization delivers on its mandates. She is responsible for the contributions of the OECD to the global agenda, including to the G20, G7, and APEC. MORE

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa
Assistant Director, Pan American Health Organization (Brazil)

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., a national of Brazil, obtained his medical degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, specialized in public health and epidemiology at the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation-FIOCRUZ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and holds a master’s degree in Medical Sciences and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Campinas-UNICAMP in São Paulo, Brazil. MORE

Ms. Alicia Bárcena Executive Secretary of ECLAC (Mexico)

Ms. Bárcena assumed office as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on 1 July 2008. She had previously served as the Under-Secretary-General for Management at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Chef de Cabinet and Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the former Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. MORE

Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron Honorary President, Inter-Parliamentary Union (Mexico)

Gabriela Cuevas Barron studied Political Science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), in addition to having participated in numerous programs and diplomas related to public administration. She was elected Federal Member of Parliament for the first time when she was 21 years old. MORE

Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Former President, UN General Assembly, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense (Ecuador)

María Fernanda Espinosa is an academic, diplomat and politician with more than 30 years of professional experience in academia, non-governmental and international organizations, and has had leadership positions within the Government of Ecuador. MORE

Dr. Len Ishmael Ambassador, Global Affairs Advisor of the Brussels Diplomatic Academy

Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael is the Global Affairs Advisor of the Brussels Diplomatic Academy and visiting Professor of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Mohammed 6 University, Morocco. She is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Scholar of the German Marshall Fund of the United States of America and a Senior Fellow of the Policy Center for the New South. MORE

Mr. Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean (Mexico)

Luis Felipe López Calva, ASG, is the UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since September 2018. He has nearly 30 years of professional experience, advising several Mexican governments, in addition to UNDP and most recently the World Bank where he most recently served as Practice Manager of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice (Europe and Central Asia). He was the co-director and lead author of the World Development Report 2017 on “Governance and the Law”. MORE

Dr. Angel Melguizo
Vice President, External and Regulatory Affairs at AT&T DIRECTV Latin America (Spain)

Ángel Melguizo is VicePresident for External and Regulatory Affairs at AT&T DIRECTV Latin America, responsible for the company positioning on key regulatory topics for the digital transformation in the region. Before joining AT&T, he was Head of the Latin American and Caribbean Unit at the OECD Development Center, coordinating the OECD’s flagship, Latin American Economic Outlook. MORE

Prof. José Antonio Ocampo Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (Colombia)

José Antonio Ocampo is Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) and Member of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. He is also Chair of the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and Chair of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). MORE

Dr. Antonio Trujillo
Associate Professor & Director MHS Global Health Economics, Health Systems Program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USA)

Dr. Trujillo’s research interests include health economics, policy analysis, and institutional behavior. Dr. Trujillo is the director of the MHS in Global Health Economics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Trujillo teaches an advanced econometrics course on program impact evaluation using observational data, and he also teaches a course on Behavioral Economics and Public Health. MORE

Maria Paz Astigarraga
Consultant, SDSN

Maria Paz graduated from the Catholic University of Asuncion with a degree in Business Administration. She also holds a Master's of Public Policy from the Blavatnik School of Government of the University of Oxford and an executive degree in Government Performance from the Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to this role, she was Priority Area Coordinator in the Presidential Delivery Unit of Paraguay, where she led initiatives on security, finance, education and environment. MORE