Advancing Family Medicine and Health Equity Across the Americas

Washington, DC – November 2025. At the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2025 Annual Meeting, WONCA President Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi joined an influential panel of leaders from across the Americas to address one of the region’s most pressing challenges: the need for stronger, better-supported primary healthcare teams capable of advancing equity and improving population health.

The session, “Enhancing Primary Health in the Americas through Strategic Health Workforce Education Planning,” convened experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), universities, and public health systems. Panelists included Dr. Benjamin Puertas (PAHO/WHO), as host and moderator, Dr. Maria del Saenz (University of Costa Rica, Executive Director of the Health Equity Network of the Americas), Professor Erin Fraher (University of North Carolina, health workforce researcher), Cristian Morales (PAHO/Brazil) and Dr Viviana Martinez-Bianchi (Duke University Department of Family medicine and Community Health and WONCA President).

Family Medicine in the Americas: Workforce Realities and Training Trends

Dr. Martinez-Bianchi presented “Family Medicine and Community Medicine in the Americas: Core Values, Workforce Realities, and Training Trends,” drawing from a regional PAHO–WONCA study covering:

• 19 national Family Medicine associations (100% response)
• 291 FM/FCM specialists from 18 countries
• Surveys conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese

Her presentation highlighted the richness and diversity of Family Medicine across the Americas, while also underscoring structural gaps that must be addressed to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Key Findings

• A predominantly female workforce (66%), largely in early to mid-career answered the survey
• Variability in training pathways, durations, and certification models
• Strong commitment to primary care, community-based practice, and prevention
• Persistent gaps in working conditions, infrastructure, and recognition
• Need for improved data systems to support workforce planning
• Limited territorial integration and continuity across care systems

These findings point to the need for coherent, multisectoral action to strengthen Family Medicine as a cornerstone of primary health care.

Core Values Project: Regional Insights Shared at APHA

As part of her presentation, Dr. Martinez-Bianchi shared findings from the WONCA Core Values Project, which has engaged regions across the world to articulate the essential professional values of Family Medicine.

For the Americas, the values most consistently identified include:

• Equity and social accountability
• Integrity, empathy, and compassion
• Relationship-based continuity of care
• Community collaboration and openness
• Generalism, adaptability, and lifelong learning

By presenting these findings, she emphasized how shared values shape clinical practice, policy advocacy, and the role of Family Medicine within strong primary care systems.

A WONCA President’s Call to Action

Speaking in her official capacity as WONCA President, Dr. Martinez-Bianchi linked the session’s findings to global priorities—reinforcing WONCA’s commitment to advancing equity, excellence, and innovation in primary care.

She highlighted that countries must:

• Invest in PHC infrastructure and workforce planning
• Expand and modernize Family Medicine training programs
• Guarantee fair compensation and sustainable career pathways
• Strengthen interprofessional teams through regulation and payment reform
• Promote continuity, territorial integration, and community-centered care
• Protect and value the primary care workforce

Her remarks echoed WONCA’s global mission to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access to high-quality, continuous, person-centered primary care.

A Regional and Global Movement

Other panelists contributed insights from their country or institutional contexts:

• PAHO (Puertas): Regional evidence for workforce planning and PHC transformation
• Costa Rica (del Saenz): defined effective primary care teams and performance assessment
• United States (Fraher): spoke about regulation and payment models needed to support interprofessional training and team-based models of primary care delivery
• Brazil (Morales): he shared the Brazilian experience to reinforce the expansion of human resources for health through intersectoral alignment, and the training of family doctors and other needed specialties.

Together, the session presented a unified vision: Strengthening primary care in the Americas is essential for achieving health equity and resilient health systems.

WONCA’s Ongoing Commitment

Dr. Martinez-Bianchi closed by reaffirming WONCA’s commitment to collaborating with PAHO, national associations, academic partners, and community organizations to transform primary healthcare and support Family Medicine professionals throughout the region.

In picture from Left to R; Erin Fraher, Cristian Morales, Maria Del Saenz, E. Benjamin Puertas and Viviana Martinez Bianchi