The Center for International Health was developed at UTMB in 1987, and received its first designation as a WHO Collaborating Center that same year. The center’s name was changed to the Center for Training in International Health in 2003. The Center was re-designated in September 2007 for an additional four year term. The Terms of Reference for the Center’s 2007-2011 designation period can be found at: http://www.who.int/whocc/List.aspx?cc_city=Galveston 

The Center's mission is to:

  1. To promote and provide education and training of individuals across medical, nursing and related disiplines in the field of global health. Assist in dissemination of curricula, model programs, and research findings to other academic and training institutions throughout the Americas in regard to global health issues.
  2. To develop and nurture cooperative relationships with universities and academic institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean for student, resident, fellow and faculty exchanges to help meet the human resource needs for improving health in the Americas.
  3. Assist in training of future leaders in public health and the health policy through support of PAHO's internships, training programs and other leadership development programs in global health.

WHO Collaborating Centers are institutions such as research institutes, parts of universities or academies, which are designated by the Director-General of the World Health Organization to carry out activities in support of the Organization's programs. Each center has specific Terms of Reference, and undergoes an extensive review process every four years in order to continue. Currently there are over 900 WHO collaborating centers in 99 Member States working with WHO on areas such as nursing, occupational health, communicable diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases and health technologies.

The Center for Training in International Health is one of three WHO collaborating Centers at UTMB, and is the only WHO center worldwide specifically designated for training in international health. Other WHO Centers at UTMB include the Center for Tropical Diseases (http://www.utmb.edu/CBEID), and the Center for Aging and Health (http://www.utmb.edu/scoa).