Barcelona, Spain, November 2, 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) strengthened its cooperation with institutions in Catalonia during a visit to Barcelona by its Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, from October 30 to November 2.
During the visit, PAHO signed two letters of intent, with the Government of Catalonia and Hospital Clínic Barcelona, respectively, and a new framework cooperation agreement with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). The agreements aim to drive innovation, strengthen health systems, and promote scientific research in priority areas for countries in the Americas. The agenda also included meetings with scientific and health institutions to explore new opportunities for cooperation.
During the visit, Dr. Barbosa met with the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, and the Minister of Health, Olga Pané, with whom he signed a letter of intent to continue the cooperation initiated in 2012 and expand joint work in priority areas for health systems in the Americas.
The letter identifies six priority areas for cooperation: primary health care and hospital management; digital health and health technology assessment; human resources for health; intermediate care and healthy aging; high-cost medicines and shared decision-making; and climate change, resilience, and sustainability of health facilities.
These priorities are aligned with Catalonia's new Health Plan – Horizon 2035, which promotes prevention, the reduction of inequalities, and the transformation of health services toward more integrated, people-centered models.
Partnerships in research and innovation
The agenda included the signing of cooperation agreements and meetings with leading institutions in health research and innovation, with the aim of connecting their scientific and technical expertise with the health needs of Latin America and the Caribbean. Areas of work range from communicable diseases and cardiometabolic health to advanced therapies and applications of artificial intelligence and supercomputing in public health.
At the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the PAHO Director signed a new framework cooperation agreement to promote research and scientific cooperation in public health across the Americas, with a particular focus on disease elimination, climate change and health, innovation, and strengthening health capacities and systems.
PAHO also signed a letter of intent with Hospital Clínic Barcelona to explore opportunities for cooperation to strengthen the capacities of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in advanced therapies, including their research, development, assessment, production, and implementation.
The agenda also included visits to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, where the participants explored applications of supercomputing and artificial intelligence in public health, and to the CaixaResearch Institute of the “la Caixa” Foundation, to exchange perspectives on biomedical innovation and potential areas for collaboration.
Cooperation with other Catalan institutions
The agenda also included meetings with representatives of other Catalan institutions with which PAHO collaborates on initiatives to improve access to health services and strengthen health systems. These include the FC Barcelona Foundation and the DTI Foundation, which work to promote access to health care in remote communities through the use of drones and to strengthen organ donation and transplantation systems.
