Promotores/as or Community Health Workers (CHW) provide outreach and education to members of their community. They receive training, and they can be in paid positions or work as volunteers.  Promotores/as are an integral part in linking underserved populations to existing resources and services. They play key liaison and educator roles among vulnerable populations, including agricultural workers in particular. Their familiarity with binational health issues in the context of migration is imperative. The HIA promotores/as program has three components: promotoras/es training manuals on migration and health, online certifications, promotoras/es exchanges, and binational conferences.

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1) Promotoras/es training manuals

To enhance the work of promotores, HIA collaborates with its partners in the U.S. and Mexico to produce Spanish-language promotoras manuals and training materials on health topics pertinent to migration and migrants.

2) Online Educational Certificates for Promotores

In partnership with the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ) and the UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS), HIA has developed two, 10-week online educational certificate programs (Diplomas) for promotores (community health workers, or CHW) who provide essential health promotion and educational messages to their community. Courses are taught in Spanish using plain language and practical exercises. Upon completion, the promotores receive a certificate and academic credits from UAZ.  

The programs provide structured training on:

• Nutrition and Health,

• Occupational Health of Migrant Workers.

Since 2014, we have partnered with Iniciativa Ciudadana (Citizen Initiative) and other key international organizations to develop a 6-month online certificate on

• psychological first aid for immigrants and refugees.
• Since 2019, a condensed version in English has also helped to train providers in the United States and Europe.

3) Annual Binational Promotores Conference. (No longer conducted)

Every year HIA organizes the Binational Promotores Conference where hundreds of promotores from the U.S. and Latin America attend and share best practices and strategies to enhance their work with the migrant populations. The two main objectives of this conference are to 1) increase participants’ knowledge of the health care systems in various countries in Latin America and the United States; as well as the social and cultural factors that impact migrant’s health, and 2) increase participants’ awareness of challenges faced by migrants in California and the rest of the U.S. that influence their health; in the topics of mental health, occupational health and safety, women’s sexual and reproductive health, and human development.

20^th Binational Promotores Conference – March 11 & 12, 2021

The Binational Promotores Conference is held every year. Through this conference, binational work and collaboration is encouraged, developing and expanding networks for future collaborations, including the exchange of educational materials and other resources.

Our last conference took place virtually on March 11 and 12, 2021, with the participation of over 2,000 promotores/CHWs in the United States and Mexico.

You can access some of the conference presentations here / Puede ver algunas de las presentaciones de la Conferencia aquí:

March 11

Qué significa ser promotor/a? Los promotores contestan (Video)

Todo lo que Necesita Saber Sobre las Vacunas Contra el COVID-19 – Dr. Alexander Vigo (Powerpoint)(Video)

Salud y Seguridad en el Trabajo ; Teresa Andrew (Powerpoint)

Primeros Auxilios Psicológicos para Poblaciones Migrantes ; Chely Romero, Promotoras con Alma (Video)

Serenata Virtual – Rosario Alberro (Video)

March 12, 2021

Participación Comunitaria para la Prevención del COVID-19 en Mexico ; Lirio Santiago, IMSS-BIENESTAR (Video)

Como hacer un taller virtual por Zoom – Promotoras TVHC (Powerpoint)

Cómo Mejorar la Comunicación Intrafamiliar; Gerry Balcazar, Vision y Compromiso (Video)

Ideas para Organizar tus Finanzas – Anahi Rojas (organización) (Video)

Estrategias de Manejo para el Estrés y la Ansiedad – Araceli López-Arenas (Video)

Cierre de Conferencia – Xochitl Castañeda (Video) 

4) Promotoras/es exchanges (no longer conducted)

The purpose of the  binational promotores exchange was to build their knowledge of health care systems in both the United States and Mexico and to develop skills in providing culturally competent care.

Promotora/es from USA would travel to Mexico to visit promotoras/es training sites and meet with their counterparts to experience firsthand the context in which they operate and their service communities live. Mexican promotoras/es had a comparable experience in California, where HIA and partner organizations hosted them and facilitated their exchange experiences. The promotoras/es were exposed to the social, cultural, and political environment in which Mexican migrants live and the ways in which their life circumstances affect personal decisions to seek health care, access existing health services, and comply with medical treatments.