Spain
The Spanish Chapter of Women in Global Health was founded in 2021 by a diverse and multidisciplinary group of women involved in academia, activism, healthcare, and NGOs, among other fields, supported by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), our host institution.
We hope to offer an intersectional and intercultural environment to enable gender parity in different fields of global health sciences and to encourage women’s leadership roles through open discussion, training opportunities, and promotional activities.
Spain Chapter
is working to:
Our aim is to promote gender justice and equity in health within Spain and beyond, strengthening feminist leadership and transforming how gender is understood and embedded in global health practice.
We work across leadership, research and innovation, mentoring, capacity-building, and advocacy. Our community brings together professionals from academia, NGOs, healthcare, public institutions, and communication to drive systemic change.
In June 2021, our proposal was accepted by the global team, officially establishing WGH Spain as part of the global Women in Global Health movement.
Since then, we have grown into a vibrant, national community advancing gender equity in health across Spain. In 2022, we developed our Strategic plan for the following 4 years, and we hosted our launch event with national and international stakeholders. In February 2023, we formally became a legal entity in Spain, officially registered as an Association, with our Board formed by Neus Rosell Civit, Núria Cortés Serra, Elena Marbán Castro, María José Merino González y Rosa María Orriols Ramos. In 2024, we founded our Advisory Board to support our Board. Today, we are nearly 300 members, with around 68 actively engaged.
Our activities include thematic working groups, public events, collaborations with national and international partners, and continuous engagement through communication and outreach.
Key accomplishments:
- Built a strong, diverse membership community of nearly 300 members, with around 68 actively engaged across the core group, working groups, and organisational development.
- Launched our first Strategic Plan (2022–2025) and are about to launch our second one, with a renewed focus on feminist leadership, sustainable funding, and organisational growth.
- Established an Advisory Board (2024) composed of leaders from academia, industry, and NGOs who provide strategic guidance to our chapter.
Organised a wide range of in-person and online events, including expert panels, conferences, and our annual flagship event, bringing together national and international experts. - Created a mentoring programme pairing 30 women working in global health each year with colleagues in their field to support their professional growth.
- Produced an extensive portfolio of dissemination materials—interviews, opinion pieces, news updates, and active social media communication—strengthening our visibility and positioning as an engaged, active chapter.
Board / Executive Team
- Neus Rosell – President
- Dra. Rosa Maria Orriols – Vice President
- Dra. Elena Marbán Castro – Vice President
- Dra. Melisa Martínez Álvarez – Secretary General
- Olga Rué – Treasurer
- Other Board Members: Blanca Paniello, Clara Pons, Ángela Crespo, María José Merino, Marta Rafel Celada, and Paulina Cerdà.
Advisory Board
- Dra. Núria Casamitjana – Chair, Director of Training at ISGlobal
- Dra. Montserrat Puig – Vice-Rector for Equality, Inclusion & Gender, University of Barcelona
- Natalía París – Global Marketing Director, iVascular
- Lourdes López – General Director, BD Spain & Portugal
- Yolanda Cuesta – Managing Director, Fundación Asistencial Mútua de Terrassa
- Xavier Prats – President of the Board of Governors, Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona; President of the Advisory Board, Open University of Catalonia (UOC)
