Fernando Monckeberg Barros

Early life The son of Gustavo Mönckeberg Bravo and Beatriz Barros Calvo, Fernando Rafael Mönckeberg is the brother of gynecologist and politician .

Barros finished his secondary education, overcoming great difficulties due to undiagnosed dyslexia; his grades did not give him many options when applying to universities. He performed military service, where he was assigned to the telecommunications sector. There Barros discovered that telegraphy did not present him with the same problems as writing, so he decided that he would continue in that line of work once his service was finished. However, a woman with whom he had a close relationship for a few years managed to use her influence to allow him to enter the University of Chile, where he graduated with a degree in medicine in 1952. In 1958, Barros did postgraduate studies in biochemistry and teaching at Harvard University.

Academic career Mönckeberg Barros developed extensive scientific research in the field of child malnutrition in Chile, publishing articles in specialized journals inside and outside the country. He formed CONPAN, an autonomous entity whose objective was the elaboration and coordination of a food and nutrition policy, and he managed to make the country adopt enriched milk. In 2001, he became dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Diego Portales University. the United States Academy of Pediatrics, the Third World Scientific Academy, and academies of England, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina.

Barros was an advisor to specialized committees of the United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.

In 1989, Barros tried unsuccessfully to present his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic in the 1989 election. His application was rejected by the on 24 August of that year, as his lists of sponsoring voters exceeded the allowed percentage of sponsors registered in political parties.

Later life On 26 June 2026, Mönchkeberg Barros turned 100.

Publications In addition to the publication of about 130 articles in specialized journals, Mönckeberg Barros has written some 65 chapters in specialized books, and also 12 of his own works. He is the director of the journal Creces,

Jaque al subdesarrollo (1973; translated into several languages) Chile y sus recursos naturales (1975) Políticas de alimentación y nutrición en Chile (1976) Antecedentes y acciones para una política nacional de alimentación y nutrición de Chile (1976) Crear para compartir: compartir para seguir creando (1980) La revolución de la Bioingeniería (1980) Desnutrición infantil: fisiopatología, clínica, tratamiento y prevención: nuestra experiencia y contribución (1988) Chile en la encrucijada: decisiones para una nueva era (1989) Jaque al subdesarrollo, ahora (1993) Ciencia y tecnología (1994) Desnutrición: el mal oculto (2004) Contra viento y marea. Hasta erradicar la desnutrición (2010)

Honors 1957 – Guggenheim Fellowship 1975 – ICARE Award 1979 – Pan American Health Education Foundation Award 1985 – Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for worldwide pediatrician of the year 1985 – Award of the World Foundation for Health and Peace 1993 – Award of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences 1995 – Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Valladolid 1998 – National Prize for Applied Sciences and Technologies 1999 – Award of the Medical Scientific Societies of Chile 2000 – Academic Excellence Award of the Chilean Society of Pediatrics 2005 – , granted by the Cultural Heritage Corporation of Chile jointly with the University of Chile and the Presidential Advisory Commission for the Bicentennial of the Republic 2007 – Recognition of career and fundamental contribution to nutrition in Chile, from the Granotec Technological Center, CTG-OTEC, during the 5th Seminar on Healthy Lifestyles Doctor Honoris Causa of the National University of Cuyo, Argentina Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition 2010 – for Contra viento y marea. Hasta erradicar la desnutrición 2012 – National Prize for Medicine