Venezuelan physician receives PAHO award for advancing Indigenous and intercultural health

Washington, D.C., September 30, 2026 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today presented the 2026 PAHO Award for Health Services Management and Leadership to Dr. Noly Fernández, recognizing her contributions to advancing Indigenous health care and shaping services that respect Indigenous cultures, knowledge and rights.

The award was presented during the 63rd Directing Council of PAHO, taking place this week with the participation of the highest health authorities in the Americas. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to health services management and leadership that have had an impact on health systems and services in the Americas.

Currently serving as Vice Minister of Comprehensive Health in Venezuela's Ministry of Popular Power for Health, Fernández is a public health specialist of Wayuu origin who has spent much of her career working to reduce the cultural, linguistic and geographic barriers that Indigenous Peoples can face when seeking health care. Her work has combined health-service management, community participation and the training of Indigenous health professionals, while promoting culturally relevant and rights-based approaches to health care for Indigenous Peoples.

"Dr. Fernández's work reminds us that equitable health systems must recognize and respond to the cultures, knowledge and realities of the people they serve. By bringing intercultural approaches and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples into health services, she has helped demonstrate how care can become more accessible, respectful and responsive to communities," said PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa.

Among the initiatives highlighted by the award committee is the development of the Indigenous Care and Guidance System, which introduced intercultural support within health facilities to help Indigenous patients and their families navigate health services while respecting their languages, traditions and cultural practices.

"This recognition does not belong to one person alone; it reflects the shared efforts of communities, traditional knowledge holders, intercultural facilitators and health professionals in Venezuela who have firmly believed in the possibility of transforming our health systems," Dr Fernández said at the event.

Fernández also helped promote the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and practices into maternal health services and has worked to strengthen the role of Indigenous health workers and intercultural facilitators as bridges between communities and formal health services.

Her work has extended to the training of a new generation of Indigenous health professionals. Fernández is one of the founders of the Cacique Nigale Project, an initiative created to expand access to medical education for Indigenous students in Venezuela, many of whom return to their communities to provide health care.

Over the years, Fernández's work has intersected with PAHO technical cooperation, including efforts with national and local health authorities to strengthen Indigenous women's health in Zulia and, in 2018, further training for more than 30 physicians from the first graduating class of the Cacique Nigale Project. She has also contributed to regional and academic work on intercultural health, including approaches to health care for the Wayuu people living along the Colombia-Venezuela border.

"Traditional medicine and academic medicine should not exclude one another, rather they should complement each other. Integrating these forms of knowledge and humanizing maternal care not only saves lives but also restores trust and honors the memory of our Indigenous Peoples," Dr. Fernández said.

Chile's Minister of Health and President of PAHO's 63rd Directing Council, May Chomali, presented the award, highlighting Dr. Fernández's career and commitment to advancing intercultural health and improving access to health services for Indigenous Peoples in the Region of the Americas.

The PAHO Award for Health Services Management and Leadership is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions to health services management and leadership that have had an impact on health systems and services in the Americas.