The work of the CHILE Node: Health monitors at free trade fairs in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

More than one hundred workers at free trade fairs in Chile were trained to prevent infection by the new coronavirus in the markets where fruits and vegetables are sold, through the virtual course "Health monitors at free fairs in times of pandemic ". The initiative was organized by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Association of Free Fairs (ASOF), the School of Public Health of the University of Chile and the University of Valparaiso.

Free fairs are the source of work for a significant number of people in Chile and are a space recognized by the community to make their food purchases, due to the low cost of their products and for the wide variety of healthy and safe foods that are available, such as vegetables, fruits, legumes and eggs, among others. For this reason, both the community and the people who work in these venues, require that the markets continue to operate regularly during the pandemic.

The objective of this course was to train exhibitors in prevention measures to help prevent COVID-19 infections in the free fair space. The course was held from July 13 to 29, 2020.

Participants learned about: basic information about COVID-19, control measures for the COVID-19 pandemic and their fundamentals, guidelines for good practices regarding the prevention and control of infections caused by COVID-19 for the operation of free trade fairs, in accordance with the MINSAL MINAGRI MINECON Protocol, and the public policy approach for the continuity of the operation of free fairs in time of a COVID-19 pandemic.

DIPLOMA: Gender focus in public and private management

The Diploma on Gender Approach in Public and Private Management sought to respond to the urgent need of national counterparts of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) to develop competencies to integrate gender, diversity and human rights (DH) approaches in health policies, programmes and projects.

Supporting the capacity development of human resources (HR) and health institutions to improve gender equity and address women's right to health is one of the most effective ways to eliminate inequalities in health and ensure an efficient use of resources. Evidence at the global level indicates that the use of gender approaches in health produces significant changes in the health situation, in participation, in policies and in sectoral responses, positively impacting the costs and sustainability of the interventions.

The course was held from 23 September to 4 December 2020 and its objective was to build a common conceptual basis on the gender approach, its key concepts, its dynamic nature and its application in the field of health, within the framework of human rights and gender diversity and interculturality.

It was organized by PAHO/WHO, the Ministry of Health, the Undersecretaries for Public Health and Assistance Networks and the Andres Bello National University (UNAB). Fifty-six officials participated from different areas of Chile's Ministry of Health.