Veronica Vargas
Expertise
Veronica Vargas is an expert in health economics, health financing, provider payment, public policy, pharmaceuticals, R&D, vaccines, project management, convener.
Technical Competencies
Infectious diseases, maternal and child health, chronic diseases, cancer, Alzheimer's, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, therapeutics innovation.
Education
Greifswald University, Economics Department, Germany, Doctorate in Economics
Boston University, Economics Department, Master of Arts in Economic Policy
Universite Libre De Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, Graduate Studies in Economic Cooperation and Development
Country Experience
Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kosovo, Panama, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, United States, Zambia
Languages
English, Spanish, French, and German
Thinking About
I am reading about the interface of intellectual property, traditional medicinal knowledge, and new biotechnologies.
Most Proud Of
I recently discovered a new passion, convening diverse, gifted individuals around lesser-explored ideas through webinars, seminars, and publications.
Passion
Spending time in my mountain cottage.
Experience includes:
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
The Harvard Herbaria
February 2022-present
Research Affiliate
Co-founder of the Consortium on Global Health, Biodiversity, and Therapeutics Innovation, which aims to foster collaboration among scientists, scholars, practitioners, and entrepreneurs from Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
The Mittal South-Asia Institute
September 2018-August 2024
Research Affiliate
Co-organizer and panelist of the webinar: Lessons from the Global South: How to Develop Life Saving Vaccines, in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health, 2024.
Lead convener and co-organizer of the seminar South-to-South Collaboration with the support of the Radcliffe Institute on Innovative Vaccines and Medicines seminar. Radcliffe Institute, 2020.
Selected Publications
Rama, M. & Vargas, V. (2023, Fall). Co-Editor: Rethinking Pharmaceutical Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Volume 51 - Issue S1.
Vargas, V. & Darrow, J. (2023, December). Pharmaceutical Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics. 51(S1):148-162.
Vargas, V., & Rama, M., Singh, R. (2022). Pharmaceuticals in Latin America and the Caribbean: Players, access, and innovation across diverse models. World Bank.
Vargas, V. (2020). Analysis of regional capacity for research, development, and manufacturing of vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean. Unpublished document submitted to IDB.
World Bank. (2020). The cost of staying healthy. LAC Semiannual Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Vargas, V. (2019). The experience of funds for catastrophic care in Latin America. Unpublished document submitted to PAHO.
Sweeney, S., Capeding, T. P. J., Eggo, R., et al., & Vargas, V. (2021). Exploring equity in health and poverty impacts of control measures for SARS-CoV-2 in six countries. BMJ Global Health, 6(5), e005521.
Vargas, V., Leopold, C., Castillo-Riquelme, M., & Darrow, J. (2019). Expanding coverage of oncology drugs in an aging, upper-middle-income country: Analyses of public and private expenditures in Chile. Journal of Global Oncology, 5, 1–17.
Global Burden of Disease Health Financing Collaborator Network (Vargas, V. Collaborator). (2019). Past, present, and future global health financing: A review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 195 countries (1995–2050). The Lancet, 393(10187), 2233–2260.
Vargas, V., Begum, T., Ahmed, S., & Smith, O. (2016). Bangladesh fiscal space for health: Toward the path to universal health coverage. Report No. AUS17126 GHN06 – South Asia: World Bank Group.
