Dr. María Isabel Rodríguez was born on November 5, 1922 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Her life has been marked by her commitment to education and science. A tireless fighter for the right to access health, equity, women’s rights and justice have made an impact on her life, making her a “Public Health Heroine of the Americas”, the highest distinction awarded by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Dr. Rodriguez received this recognition from PAHO/WHO Director Carissa F. Etienne during a special ceremony on September 28, 2015 at PAHO headquarters in Washington DC.
Dr. Rodriguez graduated from the University of El Salvador (UES) Medical School in 1948, becoming one of the first women to obtain this degree in El Salvador, and later took two postgraduate courses: one in cardiology and the other in physiological sciences at the Institute of Cardiology in Mexico.
She says that in El Salvador, medicine was perceived as a career for men only, which motivated her, even more, to enter the field, serving as motivation for other women. However, her main interest for a long time was engineering, as she had a passion for mathematics.
Between 1999 and 2007, the health expert became the first woman to serve as the Rector of the University of El Salvador, the national university of her home country. In the following university elections, she was re-elected for a second term.
She worked as a consultant for the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization, supporting the development of human resources in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and other Latin American countries and was instrumental in the creation of the Training Program in Health of PAHO.
Her specializations in cardiology and public health led her to be recognized internationally. In 2015, the Legislative Assembly of her country, awarded her the “Order of Merit November 5, 1811, Heroes of the Independence of the Nation” for the promotion of science and research in the nation.
Between 2009 and 2014, Dr. María Isabel Rodríguez was elected Minister of Health of El Salvador, becoming the first woman to hold that position in her country. At the end of her term, she served as a presidential advisor in health and education, from where she carried out a series of functions to achieve universal health coverage and quality education, with inclusion and equity in El Salvador.
In May 2019, the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) awarded her an honorary doctorate for her contributions to the academic development of medicine, while she served as a representative of the Pan American Health Organization in the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Rodriguez is considered a pioneer in the field of research and teaching in cardiovascular physiology. Throughout her professional life, she has been a promoter of profound reforms in medical education. She has led the transformation of different important sectors of development in her country, which led to an integrated system of universal, fair and high-quality health, with a focus on rights and based on the strategy of primary health care. She then ventured into politics, where she marked her life by his contribution to education and science. She has also published more than a hundred articles in Spanish and English on science and education.
Dr. Rodriguez recently celebrated her 100th birthday in 2022 and currently lives in San Salvador, El Salvador.
References:
Una trayectoria histórica: Dra. María Isabel Rodríguez festeja sus 99 años (laprensagrafica.com)
Dra. María Isabel Rodríguez – OPS/OMS | Organización Panamericana de la Salud (paho.org)
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