COLOMBIA

The history of medicine in Colombia originated from the syncretism between the herbal wisdom of pre-Hispanic communities and colonial European medicine. This knowledge was first formalized scientifically in 1783 during José Celestino Mutis’s Royal Botanical Expedition, which cataloged the country's medicinal flora—such as cinchona bark—and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the nation's first medical schools under the French clinical model during the 19th century.

Throughout the 20th century, Colombia consolidated its institutional public health by creating hygiene boards to combat tropical epidemics and establishing what is known today as the National Health Institute. 

In 1993, the implementation of Law 100 radically transformed the healthcare system into a public-private insurance model which, despite ongoing equity and sustainability challenges, achieved near-universal coverage for the population.Today, Colombia stands as a benchmark for high-complexity medicine in Latin America and a cradle of global innovation. 

The country has contributed revolutionary scientific milestones to the world, including the first artificial pacemaker by Jorge Reynolds, the Kangaroo Mother Care method for premature infants, and the first synthetic malaria vaccine by Manuel Elkin Patarroyo.

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DR. SALOMÓN HAKIM DOW (1922 - 2011)