New York, NY, July 21, 2010—Julio Frenk, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and T & G Angelopoulos professor of Public Health and International Development, a joint position at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard School of Public Health, has been elected to The Commonwealth Fund Board of Directors. His membership on the Board will begin in April 2011.
Dr. Frenk is an eminent authority on global health who served as the Minister of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and was the founding director-general of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, one of the leading institutions of health education and research in the developing world. During his tenure as minister, a program of comprehensive national health insurance was introduced, known as Seguro Popular, which expanded access to health care for tens of millions of previously uninsured Mexicans. Dr. Frenk also served at the World Health Organization (WHO) as executive director in charge of Evidence and Information for Policy, the first-ever unit explicitly charged with developing a scientific foundation for health policy to achieve better outcomes.
"Dr. Frenk's global health experience combined with his practical knowledge about what it takes to reform health care systems based on the best available research will be invaluable assets for The Commonwealth Fund Board," said Board Chairman James R. Tallon, Jr., who is also president of the United Hospital Fund of New York. "We look forward to his participation as The Fund continues to evaluate and learn from health care systems across the world and works to create a high performing health care system here in the U.S."
Most recently, Dr. Frenk served as a senior fellow in the global health program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and as president of the Carso Health Institute in Mexico City. He chairs the boards of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
Dr. Frenk holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico, as well as three advanced degrees from the University of Michigan: master of public health, Master of Arts in sociology, and a Ph.D. in medical care organization and sociology.
Highly regarded for his tireless efforts to eliminate health disparities and encourage policymakers and practitioners to put a greater focus on evidence-based decision making, Dr. Frenk received the Clinton Global Citizen Award in September 2008.
