Renowned Brazilian Nutrition Expert Honored for Leadership in Inter-American Health

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On September 27, 2010, noted nutrition expert Dr. Carlos Monteiro of Brazil received the Abraham Horwitz Award for Excellence in Leadership in Inter-American Health.

The award was presented by Dr. Benjamin Caballero, chair of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF) and Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) before an audience of ministers of health, ambassadors, notable U.S. government representatives, and executives of Fortune 500 companies.

Dr. Monteiro is a seminal figure in the nutrition field, with more than 30 years of experience in research and teaching in the areas of child health, nutrition, and epidemiology. His studies on the link between obesity and poverty in developing countries have helped advance understanding of the current nutrition transition in Latin America.

His most recent work explored the decline of stunting (growth impairment resulting from malnutrition) in Brazil. Dr. Monteiro and his team found that over a 33-year period, there was a steady decline in the national prevalence of stunting, from 37.1 percent to 7.1 percent—evidence that the nation's improving socioeconomic status is having a profound impact on children's nutritional intake.

"For me, receiving the Abraham Horwitz Award represents more than the recognition of my own research career," said Dr. Monteiro. "It also recognizes the important role a generation of Latin American researchers has played in advancing the field of nutrition within public health by dedicating their careers to building the field of knowledge."

Edward L. Kadunc, president of PAHEF, remarked, "Dr. Monteiro has made extraordinary advances not only to nutrition studies in his home country of Brazil, but to the field overall. His studies on the relationship between income and nutritional intake have had a profound influence on understanding how a nation's economic situation influences malnutrition and obesity."

Created in 1975, the Abraham Horwitz Award for Excellence in Leadership in Inter-American Health honors creative public health leaders whose commitment to public health stimulates excellence among their peers, staff, and other public health professionals. The award is one of six in the Awards for Excellence in Inter-American Public Health Program.

 
 
Monteiro
Dr. Benjamin Caballero, PAHEF, and Dr. Mirta Roses, PAHO, present the award to Dr. Carlos Monteiro
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