Report March 2026

Report from Vice President for Latin America

The Costa Rican Association held its first members’ reunion at the Gutis Auditorium in San José on February 21st, 2026 with the attendance of 13 members on site and one online. Actually the Association has 37 members. This year the main focus is to participate in the National Medical Congress on October 26 to 30th in San José, Costa Rica. We hope to also deliver in country 2 academic activities and 2 socio cultural activities, including health campaigns for women doctors.

On January 14th, 2026, the first Board of Directors’ meeting was held in the English Room of the River Front II Building in Puerto Santa Ana, Ecuador to plan the year’s activities. Dr. Guillermina Yong, President of the Pan-American Alliance of Women Physicians – Ecuador Chapter, presented the plan for the first quarter. Following this, the scientific activity began – a lecture on current health issues, given by Dr. Guillermina Yong, on the topic: “The Most Common Winter Illnesses.”

On February 11th, 2026, the 2nd Ordinary Assembly of members was held in the English Room of the River Front II building in Ecuador. To commemorate International Women Physicians’ Day, Dr. Guillermina Yong paid tribute to Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. We remember with admiration Matilde Hidalgo de Prócel, a pioneer who broke barriers and paved the way for thousands of professionals in Ecuador and Latin America, being the first female physician in the country.

In the Bay Point building, San Lorenzo Salinas in Ecuador, in the movie theater, on March 8th, Dr. Guillermina Yong opened the Ordinary Assembly with an activity report. Subsequently, Dr. Ivonne Desiderio presented a lecture: “The Power of Acupuncture Against Stress,” a topic for admission to the APM (Association of Physicians of Peru). The presentation explained that acupuncture is a technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

On February 28th, an online meeting of the Presidents of the Pan-American Alliance of Female Doctors took place.