A few weeks before Japan named an honorary consul for Alabama, Brazil did the same, extending the South American nation’s diplomatic reach into a state already covered by its consulate in Atlanta.
Isabel Scarinci, a professor in the preventative medicine division at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, was selected to be an “extension of the Brazilian consulate in Atlanta to better serve the Brazilian citizens in Alabama,” she said in a news release from the university.
Brazil’s consul general in Atlanta, Hermano Ribeiro, said Dr. Scarinci is the most recent honorary-consul appointee for Brazil, which has been expanding its outreach throughout the region with honorary consuls in three of the four states it covers beyond Georgia.
South Carolina was the most recent pick, leaving Mississippi as the only one in the five-state territory still lacking a volunteer diplomat from Brazil. Given the bureaucratic hurdles of getting the current ones approved, it won’t likely get one anytime soon, Mr. Ribeiro said.
The Brazil consulate chose Dr. Scarinci largely in recognition of her work in providing health screening for immigrants, especially Latin American women. Her work on tobacco control and cancer over the last decade has attracted multiple national grants, and more than 2,000 women have received cervical and breast cancer screenings thanks to her work.
Dr. Scarinci was recently appointed as the associate director for Globalization and Cancer at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and believes her appointment will open new avenues for health care collaborations with Brazil, which has a strong tobacco control regime but is still developing its cancer prevention strategies.
Still, Dr. Scarinci’s portfolio in representing Brazil will encompass much more than health care.
“I will also seek to foster and promote relationships between the state of Alabama and Brazil in the areas of business, economics, education, cultural arts and other areas. It’s an exciting opportunity, and one that I hope will benefit Alabama and Brazil,” she was quoted as saying in the release.
Atlanta has a “centripetal force” for consulates based here, Mr. Ribeiro said, and diplomats can exhaust their days without spending enough time in their other jurisdictions if they’re not careful.
In a bilateral relationship between two “mammoth countries,” it’s grown more important than ever to foster “decentralized cooperation” among states and cities in Brazil and the United States.
She has been confirmed by the State Department for the diplomatic position, the release said.
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