Evolución del concepto etnia/raza y su impacto en la formulación de políticas para la equidad / The evolution of the ethnicity/race concept and its impact on framing policies that promote equity

Acknowledging the differences between individuals based on their unique identity is a basic requirement for achieving equity. A review of international human rights efforts and the recommendations and declarations of global conferences and regional summits as they redirect policy to battle discrimination shows a positive evolution in the concept of ethnicity/race. This is evident in the transition from using "invisible" differences as an equalizing measure to respecting lifestyle diversity and acknowledging that individuals have a right to be valued for their differences. This evolution in the ethnicity/race concept has been pivotal to building multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual nations in which minority groups are involved in framing equitable health policies and programs. This study covers the time period from 1948 to the present day, identifying four stages in the concept's evolution that coincide with milestones in the political and social relationship between government institutions and ethnic minority groups. The results of these five decades of positive progress is a heightened appreciation for differences, which underlies multiethnic societies and surpasses any one of the tangible benefits received by minority groups. The progress of democratic societies depends heavily on this concept, one that ensure a stronger foundation for future development.

Gobernabilidad y gobernancia: hacia el desarrollo humano y la salud / Government and Governance: toward human development and health

Los conceptos de la gobernabilidad y de gobernancia ("governance"), implicitamente ligados a la Medicina Social, estan en el orden del dia de la agenda latinoamericana, debido, entre otros, a una serie de fenomenos tales como la crisis de la deuda externa, la adopcion del modelo liberal de economía de mercado, y la globalizacion financiero-economica, procesos que exacerbaron las inequidades tradicionales en la region y pusieron en evidencia la incapacidad del Estado para hacerle frente a las crecientes demandas populares. En este trabajo se analizan los riesgos y oportunidades que la globalizacion crea para el desarrollo humano en general y, en particular, para la salud poblacional. Tambien abordamos el tema de la gobernabilidad en América Latina en relacion con la modernizacion del Estado y la reforma del sector salud en particular. Finalmente, se proponen algunas medidas para, por un lado, fortalecer la gobernancia al interior del sector salud, asi como para incorporar la salud como un componente esencial para una efectiva gobernabilidad democratica en la Region