Ximena Paz Aguilera Sanhueza (born 7 October 1964) is a Chilean physician and politician, currently serving as her country's Minister of Health since 6 September 2022.

Biography

Ximena Aguilera is the daughter of journalist and radio host . In 1987, she graduated as a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

from the University of Chile, from where she also holds a master's degree in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

. Aguilera was head of the Epidemiology Division of the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

of Chile between 1999 and 2005, and then served as head of the Health Planning Division of the Ministry of Health until 2008. Between 2008 and 2010, she served as Senior Advisor for Communicable Diseases at the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, coordinating the organization's technical response to the

2009 swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...

. Aguilera has also worked as a consultant for other international organizations, such as the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO), the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, in various countries in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile, Aguilera became part of the National Commission for Pandemic Response, heading its External Advisory Council. In this role, she criticized the former government of Sebastián Piñera for lack of transparency in the delivery of data. On 6 September 2022, Aguilera replaced María Begoña Yarza as Minister of Health in the cabinet of Gabriel Boric, after a cabinet reshuffle following the rejection of the proposed new constitution in the

2022 Chilean national plebiscite The 2022 Chilean national plebiscite was held on 4 September 2022, in order to determine whether the public agreed with the text of a new Political Constitution of the Republic drawn up by the Constitutional Convention. It was commonly referre ...

. Prior to her appointment as Minister, Aguilera was director of the Center for Epidemiology and Health Policies of the Faculty of Medicine at the

University for Development Universidad del Desarrollo (Spanish for "University for development") is a Chilean private university, one of the most expensive universities in the region. Its main campus is in Santiago de Chile, with a secondary campus in Concepción. Histor ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilera, Ximena 1964 births Living people University of Chile alumni Chilean women physicians 21st-century Chilean politicians Chilean Ministers of Health Women government ministers of Chile