About the region

The South America region comprises physiotherapy associations from 13 countries/territories.

The member organisations are working on a number of projects related to developing physiotherapy in the region, including projects about the entry level educational programmes, advanced practice and continuing education.

Message from the chair

Physiotherapy in this region is well established in some countries and emerging in others. For example, Brazil produces 92% of the research papers of the whole region, and without any doubt we should promote research in the other countries.

As chair of the region, I am deeply committed to encourage and prioritise the development of accreditation standards, continuous education, and create regulations and strategies to give people direct access to physiotherapists. As many countries of the region are included in Mercosur, we must develop regulations to make professional mobility real, according to the signed agreements.

We are working on a strategic plan that will help us shape our priorities for the region.

South America region executive committee

• Chair: Maria del Rocio de la Rosa Alvarado, member of AMEFI Colegio Nacional de Fisioterapia/AMEFI National College of Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy
• Vice chair: Maria Jose Paredes Garces, member of Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Fisioterapia/Ecuadorian Society of Physiotherapy
• Executive committee member: Manuel Padrino, member of Association of Physiotherapists/Asociación de Fisioterapeutas
• Executive committee member: TBC

South America region conference 2026

Find out more about the South America region conference 2026

Webinars and events

The South America regional executive committee organises a series of webinars. Each webinar is only open to members of World Physiotherapy member organisations in the South America region. The webinars are usually delivered in Spanish. A certificate of webinar attendance will be provided.

For more details about meetings and events in the region, please contact Heidi Kosakowski at [email protected]

Direct access resources in Spanish

Member organisations in the South America region have produced direct access resources in Spanish

• View and download the resources