Dr. Edgar Mohs of Costa Rica (1939) is a renowned pediatrician and diplomat, who was the general director of the National Children's Hospital for three decades, transforming it into an important center for medical sciences.
Between 1971 and 2009, Dr. Mohs was appointed Vice Minister and later Minister of Health of Costa Rica. He worked tirelessly on a government program focused on the eradication of extreme poverty, focusing on health and education reforms as a tool for greater productivity. He also promoted the transfer of hospitals to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS). He also led an ambitious national project to reduce infant mortality, eliminate malnutrition, eradicate infectious diseases, supply clean water, promote breastfeeding, and universalize primary care.
He was part of the Board of Directors of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research and in the last three decades, he has participated in committees of international experts of the World Health Organization (WHO), his professional work is being associated with scientific research groups in infectious diseases in Mexico, the United States and Sweden.
Dr. Edgar Mohs has held academic positions at the University of Medical Sciences and the University of Costa Rica. He is the author of 40 books, 190 scientific articles and a hundred technical documents, as well as has given 500 lectures at national and international scientific meetings around the world. He has been a deputy of the Republic and ambassador of Costa Rica in France and Switzerland.
His prolific professional career has been recognized internationally with numerous honors and awards. In 1988, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Göteborg, Sweden for his General Theory of Paradigms in Health. On December 2, 2002, in the city of Washington DC, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recognized Dr. Mohs along with 11 important health professionals with the Hero of Public Health Award for his valuable contribution to improving health in his country and in the region of the Americas.
Links of interest:
IInterview: Reflections with Dr. Edgar Mohs. 2012. (In Spanish)