Ariel Pablos-Méndez

Ariel Pablo Mendez

A Vision for Bridging the Health Care Divide

There are disparities between rich and poor countries and disparities between the rich and poor living within those countries.

Growing up in Mexico in the 1960s, Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez witnessed daily the divide between the haves and the have-nots. As he entered his medical training, it became clear that illness, disease and poor health saw no divide between rich and poor—yet, health care and life-saving medicine often did. As he travelled around the globe, he saw first-hand that many of the world’s poorest were dying from ailments that were treatable and preventable. Dr. Pablos-Méndez made it his life’s mission to help bring equitable access to health care and medical supplies to those who need it most.  

Dr. Pablos-Méndez has a vision—universal access to health care regardless of where a person lives or how much money he has.

Years later as Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID, Dr. Pablos-Méndez has a vision—universal access to health care regardless of where a person lives or how much money he has. Ensuring reproductive health care and supplies for women, girls and families is at the heart of this vision. He acknowledges having a partner like RHSC provides a network to move the issue forward. He says the key to making sure even the most difficult-to-reach people have equal access to affordable, safe and effective reproductive health supplies is to develop creative, culturally appropriate and localized approaches tailored to each location.

Dr. Pablos-Méndez believes the greatest impact is providing equal access to the women who are hardest to reach. Why? Because when you empower a woman, you empower everything in her community.

The ability of women and men to have equitable access to reproductive health supplies, irrespective of their financial well-being. For many potential consumers, the cost of supplies has been a major, but not the only, barrier to accessing what they need and want for reproductive and sexual health. The need for equity also draws its inspiration from a rights-based approach to achieving better RH health.

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Who’s Holding up Our Pillars?

This story is part of “Who’s Holding up Our Pillars?”, a Coalition effort to invite our heroes working in supply chains to tell their stories. Read their stories and see who they contribute to our vital, everyday work.

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