José María Bengoa de Sanare for the world of social nutrition

Abstract

Jose María Bengoa, illustrious son of Sanare, began his stay in that rural town in 1936, there, as he himself expressed it, he trained at the University of Sanare, where with his careful observation, he recognized the social determinants of malnutrition, there he discovered that malnutrition and hunger were the common denominator of diseases. He proposes caring for the child and educating the mother, and thus the first nutritional recovery center arises. In the midst of that loneliness he collects his experience, reflections, observations and practical solutions of his published in the book “Social Medicine in the Venezuelan Rural Environment” (1940). He managed to spread it to the rest of America, Asia and Africa from his work at the United Nations. In 1941 he directed the Nutrition Section in the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance, and contributed to the creation of the National Institute of Nutrition, the School of Nutritionists and Dieticians of the Central University of Venezuela (1940 to 1950). In 1955 he joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, commented on this experience “when I began my activities at WHO, there was an evident hiatus between research in nutrition and public health”, he directed the Nutrition Unit (1964 - 1974). He directs the Cavendes Foundation and manages to turn Caracas into the Latin American Capital of Nutrition thanks to his ability to form alliances with national institutions and international organizations. He worked hard to strengthen existing institutions and promote new institutions.