In the year 2022, scientific cooperation between Germany and Mexico has as flagship programs two cardinal efforts with a broad social impact, according to reports from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD for its acronym in German).
In the first place, to support the faster identification of bodies of unknown persons, the two countries collaborate in the CoCiMex forensic science program, which was launched in 2021 and over 13 months will carry out training and technology transfer to tackle the problem of the 70,000 disappeared and 35,000 unidentified bodies registered in Mexico.
Additionally, Germany and Mexico, together with Cuba, will launch a Center for Research and Training in Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology that aims to benefit all Latin American countries for the eradication of the current COVID19 pandemic and the prevention of future pandemics.
FORENSIC IDENTIFICATION.
On the construction of the CoCiMex program, the German DAAD explains in its official documents that: “Over a period of 13 months, a German-Mexican research collaboration in the field of forensic identification will be established within the framework of the DAAD-GIZ collaboration. , thus enhancing the reputation of forensic medicine in Mexico and creating the prerequisite for the application of the results of bilateral university collaborations in institutes of forensic medicine in Mexico”.
To achieve this goal, the governments of Germany and Mexico agreed that scholarships and teaching support should be provided to the partner Mexican university in the framework of curricular workshops to make a valuable contribution to the identification of the many unidentified deceased. Collaborative projects that are eligible for funding will be carried out jointly by at least one German and at least one Mexican university in the field of forensic medicine or an institute of legal medicine. Partnerships consisting of several German and Mexican universities are also possible.
“In addition to the academic exchange, the program will also support the implementation of an extraordinary identification mechanism (MEIF) in Mexico, presumably under the supervision of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, and with the support of the German Federal Government. At the impact level, the program aims to strengthen the confidence that Mexican society has in the rule of law and contribute to the establishment of social peace in the country by helping to strengthen the reputation of forensic medicine in Mexico and prevent cases of disappearances. forced violence in Mexico”, says DAAD.
INFECTION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY.
About the GLACIER program, the DAAD itself informs that “the German-Latin American Center of Infection & Epidemiology Research and Training (GLACIER), must become one of eight interdisciplinary centers for facing global challenges, promoted by the DAAD. Each center will receive up to 600,000 euros of support annually, initially until 2025, with the possibility of extending it until 2030.
Germany, Mexico and Cuba participate in this project, through the University of Havana, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Charité Berlin and the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.
The objective of this center is to strengthen the capacities for the prevention and treatment of communicable diseases in the partner countries, as well as to improve prevention, reaction and recovery in the event of a crisis. To this end, within the framework of international master’s degrees, among others, doctoral programs and improvement courses will be created and through them the university exchange between Germany and Latin America will be expanded.
The Federal Foreign Office (AA) can support the construction of the centers until 2025 with around 22 million euros.
