" Invest in health, build a safer future", is the theme of this year's World Health Day on 7 April, 2007 . Four projects, selected as finalists in the Experiences in Social Innovation competition organized by ECLAC and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, stand out because they have managed to improve the health of their population by combining the efforts of communities and local authorities.

• In Fram, Department of Itapúa, Paraguay , the community rose up 13 years ago against the inefficiency of the centralizad health services, uniting with professionals from the health centre to design a plan that would meet their needs. Having defined health as a responsability for all , they created a basic solidarity package which all local inhabitants can access, and an additional plan with a family cost of up to US$2.50 per month. Over time, they incorporated a pharmacy and a social network of women who promote healthy living. The results: 97% of births are attended by specialized personnel, all children receive pediatric care and infant vaccination rates reach 98%. This decentralized model has been replicated in 32 districts and will benefit 24% of Paraguayans. (Contact: Dr. José Rolón, Fram Local Health Council. Email: centrosaitacom.com.py , Tel: (595-761 265-266.)

• On the banks of the Tapajós River, in the Brazilian Amazon , a model of health care for remote populations reaches 143 communities, improving the health of those who did not previously have access to timely, quality care. Health is considered a collective challenge and, at the same time, an individual responsibility. Its tools are the circus, rural newspapers and videos produced by themselves, an amphibious ambulance given that the river is the only means of transportation. It is the sum of various efforts from the local population and authorities. Another important concept: happiness as a tool to create positive environments and to help prevent illness. (Contact: Rui Anastasio, Coordinator for the CEAPS Health Nucleus. Health and Happiness Project. Email : ruisaudeealegria.org.br & psasaudeeealegria.org.br , Tel: (5593) 3522-2161.)

• On the island of Chiloé, in southern Chile , the Williche Peoples established a space for dialogue with community health teams and developed co-management experiences that incorporate the indigenous cosmo-vision along with the ancestral medicinal knowledge of this community. (Contact: Manuel Muñoz Millalonco, Coordinador Consejo General de Caciques Williche de Chiloé. Email: ccchilwetelsur.cl & ccchilwewsurnet.cl , Tel: (56-65) 532-660 / (56-65) 532-66.)

• In Colombia , the communities of Pijao and Paéz del Tolima developed a bicultural health model that incorporates traditional medicine, with the cultivation of medicinal herbs in market gardens, the preparation of traditional medicines, and health care in keeping with the indigenous communities' perspective on the world. (Contact: César Culma Yara, Tolima Regional Indigenous Council (CRIT). Email: cri6447hotmail.com hotmail.com">cesar_culmahotmail.com , Tel: 5798 - 2625085.