(Latin Pulse: July 16, 2008) The increased cost of health care is an ongoing debate in the U.S. and a critical issue in Latin America. With so many different medical systems in the region, who does a better job? The government or private industry? En Español El Cuidado de la Salud en Latinoamérica El aumento del costo del cuidado de la salud es un debate en curso en los EEUU y un asunto critico en Latino América. Con tantos sistemas diferentes de salud en la región, ¿quién ofrece un mejor servicio el gobierno o la empresa privada? GUESTS: Benjamin Caballero, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D. Pan American Health and Education Foundation Leadership Dr. Caballero is currently professor of international health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University. He has 20 years of experience as a scholar, researcher, and leader in the area of health and nutrition in the developing world. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires, his masters of science degree from the University of San Carlos and his Ph.D. from MIT. He started his academic career at Harvard University, and moved to Johns Hopkins in 1990 to found the Center for Human Nutrition. He was an active participant in key scientific committees advising the U.S. government on issues of diet and health, including the Dietary Reference Intakes Standing Committee, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee. Dr. Caballero was president of the Society for International Nutrition Research and is presently on the board of directors of the International Nutrition Foundation. Last year he received the Ancel Keys Prize for achievements in international public health. Dr. Caballero is the author of over 100 scientific publications. His book "The Nutrition Transition: Diet and Disease in the Developing World" (Academic Press, London 2003) explored the impact of demographic and economic development on diet- and lifestyle-related diseases in developing countries. He is also the editor-in-chief of the "Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition" (Academic Press, London, 2004), a 10-volume work on food production, consumption and biological effects. An earlier work, the "Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition" (AP, 1999) received the Book of the Year Award from the British Medical Association. He joined the board of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation in 2007. Nick Penco, Program Manager, Child Family Health International Nick Penco joined CFHI in the spring of 2005. He is a native of Argentina, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years. He graduated with a bachelor's in international relations from San Francisco State University. He worked full time while in school in the hospitality industry, which served as a great benefit to CFHI, where he now works as a primary person communicating and supporting CFHI's 700 yearly students on a daily basis. Penco travels extensively for CFHI, facilitating bilingual evaluation site-visits around the world. He is also fluent in French, German and conversational Portuguese. Penco sits on the board of directors for the non-profit organization Family Link in San Francisco, California. Mary Anne Tenuto-Sanchez, Director, Chiapas Support Committee CSC Chiapas Support Committee is a non-profit organization composed entirely of volunteers concerned about victims of low-intensify warfare in Chiapas, Mexico. The three programs assisted financially are: economic cooperatives operated by indigenous women in the canyons of Ocosingo; autonomous health clinics; human rights representation of peasants unjustly jailed during land disputes and political conflict. In Mexico CSC works with K'inal Antzetik, the Human Rights Coalition for the Ethnicities of Chiapas and Enlace Civil.