Skip to main content

Xóchitl Castañeda wins Mexican National Award of Health

  • Published

Xóchitl Castañeda, director of the Health Initiative of the Americas at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health has been awarded the Mexican National Award of Health for 2020 in the category of “Sin Fronteras” (No Borders) for her lifetime of work to improve the health of Mexicans living outside Mexico. She is the co-recipient of the award in this category with Xavier Becerra, current US Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“I received this award on behalf of the Health Initiative of the Americas’s (HIA) team,” said Castañeda. “The recognition is for the work we have done for over 20 years to improve the health of the Latino population, especially the Mexican immigrants living and working in the United States. This population contributes enormously to the wellbeing of both countries, and many times, their health is not guaranteed due to the type of work they perform, as well as their documentation status. Today more than ever, we need to include every person in the healthcare system. The health of a country is also the health of its immigrants.”

Read more about the award at the Premio Nacional de Salud website.

People of UCBPH found in this article include:

Xóchitl Castañeda wins Mexican National Award of Health © 2021 by UC Berkeley School of Public Health is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons Credit must be given to the creator Only noncommercial use is permitted No derivatives or adaptations are permitted
  • What is CC BY-NC-ND 4.0?

    CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

    Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

    You are free to:
    • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
    • The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
    Under the following terms:
    • BY Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
    • NC NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
    • ND NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
    • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
    Learn more:

More in category “Faculty Highlights”:

Meet our new faculty: Brian TaeHyuk Keum

October 24, 2025

Jingshen Wang named Emerging Woman Leader in Data Science

Acting associate professor Brian Keum, PhD, MA discusses past work, current research, and their future at UC Berkeley Public Health.
October 23, 2025

Meet our new faculty: Dan Zeltzer

This award is given annually to three women data scientists who are within 10 years of completing their PhD.
October 15, 2025

An end to urban gun violence?

Dr. Zeltzer is a health economist whose research focuses on how digital technology is transforming healthcare delivery and organization.zel
October 7, 2025
View all in category “Faculty Highlights”
©2025 UC Regents; all rights reserved