Learning, Sharing, Transforming: Pathways to Health Equity

Background: The Health Equity Network of the Americas (HENA) is a regional platform that convenes knowledge, experiences, and key actors to advance the collective construction of equity across diverse contexts and perspective. Within this framework, its educational pillar has consolidated as a strategic space for learning, critical reflection, and competency strengthening, grounded in the understanding that training is essential to build transformative capacities in health systems through participatory, interprofessional, and equity-oriented practices.

 

This paper analyzes the evolution of the Network’s educational component and outlines new pathways to enhance its role in the collaborative generation of knowledge that strengthens action for equity across the Americas.

 

Approach: To consolidate and advance HENA´s role in knowledge building and management for equity, we conducted a strategic analysis of its educational component for the period 2022–2025. The analysis systematized 55 initiatives and reviewed 7 foundational Network documents. It was guided by four assessment criteria: relevance, scope, sustainability, and applicability; and five theoretical–operational dimensions: strategic contribution, formative approaches, methodologies, key actors, and resources, thereby linking the practical and conceptual dimensions of HENA’s formative work.

 

Methods combined document review, data categorization, and internal reflective–critical working sessions within HENA to understand the evolution, foundations, strengths, and areas for improvement of the educational strand as a basis for its future strategic positioning.

 

Results: : The analysis indicates that (a) HENA has been consolidating a key role in capacity-building and learning for equity action in the region, with strong cross-area articulation and clear potential to integrate scientific, technical, and community knowledge; (b) the identified strengths include the creation of spaces for reflection and learning that facilitate exchange among diverse actors and strengthen equity-related capacities through participatory, interdisciplinary, and disruptive methodologies, alongside opportunities to broaden community actor participation, reinforce the planning and evaluation of formative processes, and consolidate sustainable collaboration mechanisms; and (c) there is a need to advance a collaborative learning model for action on equity that promotes lifelong learning, continuing education, and shared knowledge management among regional actors. In this regard, a participatory process is proposed for the co-construction of the model, drawing on Latin American frameworks and experiences to make it responsive to territorial realities and capable of strengthening collective capacities for health equity.

 

Implications: The agenda for the participatory construction of the model comprises: (a) establishing lifelong learning and continuing education processes to strengthen professional, community, and collective competencies for action on equity; (b) opening horizontal spaces for knowledge exchange and for the articulation of technical, scientific, and community knowledge; and (c) advancing shared knowledge management to ensure the accessibility, relevance, and applicability of the learning generated; all underpinned by principles of equity, interculturality, and decolonization. Taken together, these actions will enable HENA to consolidate its role as a coordination hub that strengthens collective capacities and shared learning for health equity across the Americas.