The Global Environmental and Occupational Health (GEOHealth) program from the Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has the objective of supporting the development of institutions in the low or middle income countries (LMICs) that will serve as regional hubs for collaborative research, data management, training, curriculum and outreach material development, and policy support around high local and regional environmental and occupational threats. GEOHealth funding partners include NCI, NIEHS, NIOSH (CDC) and NIA. 
Our GeoHealth Hub has received funding to link a Research proposal (U01) with a Training proposal (U2R) with the purpose to create a research and training center for environmental health based in Lima, Perú, with links to neighboring countries Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile. 

​​Our team of environmental health researchers from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), Emory University, University of Georgia (UGA) Johns Hopkins University (JHU), and Universidad de Chile have extensive research and professional training experience in Perú. We have built this project based on more than 20 years of collaboration through 7 years as a GEOHealth Hub, previous GeoHealth Hub planning, 15 years of Fogarty sponsored work in Perú ​and Chile through the International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health program (ITREOH), and more than 20 years of strong collaborative research among JHU and the UPCH. 

​The GeoHealth hub centered in Perú has the support of key Peruvian governmental and academic institutions, including the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Health/National Institutes of Health, and the National Academy of Sciences. ​
Our research and training projects are highly relevant to public health in Perú, as they enhance the capacity of scientists and professionals in the region to carry out research and provide high quality data useful to policy makers

Research

In Latin America, about 172 million or 58% of the population, live in 366 cities comprising over 100,000 residents, all of which have ambient air pollution (AAP) levels above WHO recommended level of 10 μg/m3 annual average for PM2.5. Exposure to AAP, both short and long-term, is associated with higher morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and there is increasing evidence for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as well. ​Our research projects continue to respond to these important  environmental challenges in Peru. 

Training

Our training activities planned for the period 2022 to 2027, will build on our previous work providing educational opportunities for researchers from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia to participate in short, medium, and long-term research training in environmental. During the period 2017 to 2021, we offered graduate and continuing education opportunities  to more than 200 trainees. In addition, the GeoHealth Hub contributed to the creation of a Master Degree in Environmental Sciences at the UPCH in Lima, Peru. All trainees selected have received full scholarships.   

News and Publications

The Regional GEOHealth Hub in Peru with ties to neighboring countries of Ecuador and Bolivia, has received a renewal award for five more years of research and research training activities in the region. We join a network of seven GEOHealth Hubs collaborating around the globe to support the development of institutions in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) serving as regional hubs for collaborative research, data management, research training, and policy support. See official note here.
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