Gill-Lebovic Seminar

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This inaugural Gill-Lebovic Seminar is hosted by the Milken Institute School of Public Health
(SPH). This seminar focuses on the evaluations of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI)
conducted by the University of Chicago in collaboration with the Gill-Lebovic Center.
The SMI was a multi-country, public-private initiative launched between 2011 and 2024 in eight
Mesoamerican countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama, and the Mexican state of Chiapas. Its initial focus was on enhancing maternal and
child health outcomes for the poorest rural populations. Currently, it coordinates malaria
elimination efforts in these eight Mesoamerican nations, as well as in Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, and Colombia.

This seminar aims to highlight the strengths and limitations of SMI evaluations and explore
options for evaluating large-scale health system transformations in low—and middle-income
countries.

Lunch provided.

Please note: seminar is by invitation only and for GW faculty.

Agenda

(8:30 -9 am) Registration 

(9-9:15 am)  Opening Session: Welcome & Overview of seminar
Wolfgang Munar - Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University

(9:15-10 am) Overview of SMI’s goals, structure, and regional significance
Emma Iriarte, Executive Secretary, Salud Mesoamerica Initiative

(10-10:45 am) Presentation 1:  Impact Evaluation of the SMI
Alicia Menendez, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

(10:45-11 am) Coffee break

(11-11:45 am) Presentation 2: Theory-driven case study of performance measurement and management strategies in El Salvador and Honduras.
Wolfgang Munar - Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University

(11:45-12:50 pm) Expert Panel:  The future of monitoring, learning, and evaluation of health system transformation in low- and middle-income countries.
Commentator and Moderator:  Leslie Curry, Professor of Public Health, and Professor of Management, Yale University
Panelists:  Emma Iriarte, Alicia Menendez, Pedro Bernal and Wolfgang Munar

(12:50-1 pm) Closing Remarks: Lynn R. Goldman, Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health; Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health

(1-2 pm) Lunch