Jorge Velasco

I have over 25 years experience in the development, implementation, management and evaluation of health activities in the Americas and Africa. I started my career in Bolivia as a field inspector for the surveillance of the sika and dengue virus vector. I was the first director of the innovative Andean Rural Health Care project that has hence successfully applied its census-based, impact-oriented approach to four other countries. From 1981-1986, I worked with the Pan American Health Organization undertaking epidemiological studies and operational research in a project to control Chagas Disease in Venezuela. I then co-founded CIENTIFICA, a Bolivian non-governmental organization (NGO) and consulting group that provided health evaluation and supervision services to various international NGOs working in health. From 1990 to 1996, I was the Director of Community Health of the Bolivian Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Community and Child Health Project (CCH) funded by USAID. During that time, I had a one year leadership position as Director of the Chagas disease control program and reported directly to the Minister. In 1996, I joined USAID/Bolivia and managed the CCH project, focusing on strengthening health systems and emphasizing results oriented outcomes. I worked with the MOH in simplifying the health information system and organizing the Demographic and Health Survey. From 2005 to 2015 I worked as a Foreign Service Officer at USAID having managed health programs in Dominican Republic, Haiti and Zambia. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Science degree in Tropical Medicine from Louisiana State University Medical School, and a Medical Doctor degree from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (La Paz, Bolivia). I was a special student of public health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and studied epidemiology and data for decision making at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.