The Princess of Girona Awards recognize two young women committed to healthcare access in Latin America.

This Monday, the Princess of Girona Foundation recognized Valentina Agudelo (Colombia, 28) and Gabriela Asturias (Guatemala, 29) with the International Award in the categories of CreaEmpresa and Research. These two awards seek to recognize the careers of young people up to the age of 35 from Latin American countries who have distinguished themselves for their work in scientific research and business.

The jury unanimously decided to award the two Latin American women because their projects "combine science , public health, and technology with an applied, inclusive approach focused on social impact."

At an event held at the Teatro del Bosque in Móstoles, attended by King Felipe VI and the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the two young women received their awards. “I would just like to thank the team that works with me and with whom we dedicate our lives to democratizing access to healthcare ,” Agudelo quickly said upon receiving the award. Asturias, for its part, expressed feeling “honored” to be representing its country in a competition that evaluated dozens of other projects before choosing itss as the winner.

Asturias is a scientist, doctor, and entrepreneur. In 2015, the young woman—who holds a degree in Neuroscience from Duke University and a medical degree from Stanford University, both in the United States—opened the doors of the Desarrolla Guatemala Foundation for Education and Health ( Fundegua ), through which she channels her "research and dedication to service" toward her country. One of her main developments has been ALMA, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot that one million people in Guatemala turned to during the pandemic to seek information about COVID-19. It continues to provide education and medical advice to vulnerable communities.

Speaking to EL PAÍS, Asturias stated that this award will likely change the course of his career. “One of the most important things about this recognition is that it legitimizes our project, and that can open new doors for more people to access it,” he said. He added: “Artificial intelligence, like the one we use at ALMA, will never change the personal approach to a doctor or psychologist, but it is helping many people realize for the first time that they need to ask for some kind of help.”

The young woman's resume is long and laden with accolades. She was named, for example, as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine. She has also been recognized by MIT and Bloomberg. She is currently exploring how to apply AI to address mental health issues among migrant communities.

Agudelo, for her part, is an entrepreneur with a degree in Business Administration, focused on healthcare innovation. She is the founder and director of Salva Health, a startup that creates technological solutions to improve access to medical diagnosis, especially for high-incidence and high-cost diseases. Her first product, launched in 2018, is Julieta, a portable device that, thanks to AI, performs breast cancer screenings without radiation or advanced infrastructure to detect potentially damaged breast tissue.

“Julieta is something like my first child,” she explained after winning the award. “She’s the one who has taught me the most, but now I dream of a complete ecosystem of solutions so that people who can’t access the healthcare system have the opportunity to detect their diseases early.” The young woman and her team are working on developing devices similar to Julieta, but to warn about the risk of osteoporosis, fatty liver, prostate cancer, and diabetes. “These diseases have a very high incidence, and detecting them early can save your life,” she explained.

Thousands of women in Colombia have used Julieta to access early diagnosis, and now she wants to expand it internationally with European CE certification. Her vision, she explained, is clear: "To ensure that all women, regardless of where they live, have access to affordable and decent medical diagnoses . "