Our work in Latin America and the Caribbean

For the first time, Peru had national data showing which children were being poisoned by lead and how to intervene — with the help of Vital Strategies, the Ministry of Health and CDC-Peru designed and launched the country’s first national surveillance system for childhood lead poisoning, testing blood lead levels in 1,000+ children. 

Decisions that once relied on two-year-old cause-of-death data now happen in real time. Vital Strategies supported the digitization of hospital cause-of-death records, cutting the reporting lag from two years to two weeks.   

Paraguay is the first Latin American country to measure how well its schools comply with globally recommended noncommunicable diseases prevention standards. In partnership with Pan American Health Organization, Vital Strategies supported the government to adapt and implement WHO’s Global School Health Policies and Practices Survey, with full results informing the country’s National Action Plan for NCDs by 2030.  

All 5,570 municipalities and 27 federal units now have stronger data on children’s and adolescents’ mental health to guide prevention strategies. The Children’s Mental Health Promotion Platform offers a dashboard to track factors that protect against or increase risk of mental illness.An innovative survey program is providing decision-makers with data on health realities that standard data systems may miss. Through More Data Better Health, Vital Strategies has piloted four national survey modules since 2025—primary health care, everyday discrimination, climate and health in the Legal Amazon and cancer risk perceptions—producing first-of-its-kind data now shaping public health policy.

Fortaleza is strengthening its response to climate-related health risks with its Climate Risk Observatory. The platform combines real-time heat monitoring with air quality data from 30+ low-cost sensors installed across the city, with support from the Partnership for Healthy Cities—and has since been made a permanent tool through city climate policy to support evidence-based climate adaptation and protect public health. 

Women at risk of violence and patients showing warning signs of suicide are now being flagged months before a crisis hits. Vital’s AI model, first applied to gender-based violence, found that at-risk women sought care up to 90 days before their case was reported. Applied to suicide prevention, it found patients often mentioned suicidal ideation 170+ days before an attempt, without referral to specialized care. The methodology now guides Recife’s violence prevention efforts and is expanding to Rio de Janeiro and new mental health work.   

Cut the time spent consolidating annual crash and injury data, freeing road safety teams to act on it instead of just collecting it. Vital Strategies helped implement AI-powered tools that reduced the labor of gathering and consolidating the data, without losing accuracy, from 480 hours to 28 (Buenos Aires) and from 1,780 hours to 4 (Mexico City). 

Students at 600+ schools and universities are now protected by smoke- and electronic-cigarette-free zones—with the Partnership for Healthy Cities supporting implementation of the city regulation, including helping schools update internal policies, post signage and initiate communication campaigns. 

Investigative journalism exposing tobacco industry interference is unlocking stalled policy. In Brazil, the coverage helped unblock implementation of an alternative livelihoods program for tobacco farmers. In Peru it spurred the Ministry of Health to move forward on new product regulations, and in Uruguay it led to the annulment of a decree allowing the sale of heated tobacco products. 

Local law now guarantees schoolchildren access to healthy food and water at school. In Córdoba, students can buy only healthy food at school kiosks and have access to free drinking water. In Lima, they’re protected from unhealthy food marketing near schools, with restaurants also required to offer healthier options. Both efforts were supported by the Partnership for Healthy Cities

20 km/h speed zones now protect students at schools across Guadalajara. With Partnership for Healthy Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety support, the city adopted an amendment aligning with national law—formally delineating school zones, capping speeds and adding other pedestrian safety measures. 

New motorcyclist safety regulations drove a 33% drop in crashes and a nearly two-thirds reduction in citations for carrying minors. The Partnership for Healthy Cities supported implementation of these lifesaving efforts—including signage at high-risk locations, checkpoints and a city-wide communication campaign.

National legislation now protects the country’s 129 million people from smoking and electronic cigarette use in all indoor and many outdoor public spaces. A Vital Strategies-supported campaign reached 50 million people and mobilized an online movement of 71,000+ advocates who pressed legislators directly, helping drive the law’s unanimous passage.

Jamaicans who saw a campaign on the harms of sweetened beverages were significantly more likely to support a tax than those who didn’t. Vital Strategies partnered on the national “Are We Drinking Ourselves Sick?” campaign to build support for regulation, recalled by more than 80% of the population. In 2026, Jamaica implemented a sweetened beverage tax.

Passed first-of-its-kind legislation taxing ultra-processed foods and sweetened beverages, paired with a resolution mandating best-practice octagonal front-of-package warning labels. Vital Strategies helped develop multiple mass media campaigns that built public support and laid the groundwork for policymakers to act.  

Cut motorcyclist fatalities 24.3% below projected levels during a high-risk holiday period. A Vital Strategies-supported media and enforcement campaign, pairing data-driven messaging with speeding checkpoints, helped push drivers to slow down. 

Banned sweetened beverage sales and limited unhealthy foods in schools under a new National School Nutrition Policy, building on an earlier increase in the sweetened beverage tax to 20%. These wins followed years of public momentum built by Vital Strategies-supported mass media campaigns, including “Switch It Up” and “Protect Our Children,” urging Barbadians to avoid sweetened beverages and support healthier food policies. 

Brazil’s tax reform created a Selective Tax on products harmful to health, including tobacco, alcohol and soft drinks. Vital Strategies helped build the momentum behind the reform through multi-sectoral partnerships and far-reaching media campaigns on tobacco, ultra-processed products and alcohol, reaching millions of Brazilians and generating more than a thousand news stories. A food policy campaign also helped defeat a proposed 2% cap on the soft-drink tax rate, protecting its potential as a public health measure. 

1.8 million children and adolescents are now protected by a state law banning the supply, sale and advertising of ultra-processed products and sugary drinks in schools. The law passed unanimously in September 2025, driven by social mobilization and technical advocacy from Vital Strategies and partners.