Cesar G. Victora is Professor of Epidemiology at the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil, which he joined in 1977 after obtaining his MD from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1976). In 1983, he obtained a PhD in Health Care Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  He has conducted extensive research in the fields of maternal and child health and nutrition, equity issues and the evaluation of health services, which led to over 300 publications. He works closely with UNICEF and with the World Health Organization (WHO), where he is a consultant to the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, and was a member of the Advisory Committee on Health Research from 2000-2004. Since 1996, his unit was designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre in Maternal Health and Nutrition. He is also an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, International Associate Editor of the American Journal of Public Health, and Editorial Consultant a t The Lancet.