The Pan American Health Organization awarded the 2026 PAHO Award for Management and Leadership in Health Services to Dr. Noly Fernández on September 30, 2026, recognizing her work advancing indigenous health and culturally respectful care systems. The distinction was presented during the 63rd PAHO Directing Council meeting in Washington, D.C., by the Minister of Health of Chile and council president May Chomali.
Dr. Fernández serves as the Vice Minister of Integral Health within Venezuela’s Ministry of Popular Power for Health. A public health specialist and a member of the Wayuu indigenous people, her career focuses on dismantling cultural, linguistic, and geographical hurdles that indigenous populations face when accessing medical treatment. Her administrative framework merges community participation, institutional healthcare management, and the targeted training of indigenous medical professionals.
Indigenous Health Leadership and Intercultural Care
PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa noted that Dr. Fernández demonstrates how healthcare delivery becomes more accessible and responsive by respecting the traditions and rights of native communities. The PAHO award committee specifically highlighted her role in developing the Indigenous Care and Guidance System, an initiative that integrates intercultural support directly into medical facilities. This system assists patients and their families by providing guidance that respects native languages and traditional practices.
Beyond hospital navigation, Dr. Fernández has worked to incorporate indigenous knowledge into maternal health services. She has elevated the status of traditional indigenous health workers and intercultural facilitators, positioning them as functional bridges between communities and the health system.
Expanding Medical Education Through the Cacique Nigale Project
She is a founder of the Cacique Nigale Project, a program established to broaden medical school access for indigenous students in Venezuela. Many graduates of this initiative return directly to their home communities to practice medicine.
Her academic and technical footprint extends across borders. In 2018, she participated in training more than 30 physicians of the first promotion of the Cacique Nigale Project and collaborated on technical cooperation efforts with PAHO to strengthen indigenous women’s health in Zulia. Her academic framework also encompasses binational health strategies for the Wayuu population residing along the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Reflecting on the award at PAHO headquarters, Dr. Fernández emphasized that the honor belongs to the collective effort of communities, elders, intercultural facilitators, and health workers across Venezuela. She maintains that traditional medicine and academic medicine should function as complements rather than mutually exclusive practices, noting that humanizing maternal care restores trust and honors the memory of indigenous populations.