Proximity began as a personal project of Matea Cañizares, a high school student from Ecuador (South America) interested in geospatial analysis of environmental and human health variables. She is a member of the Youth Advisory Panel of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and won the 2025 Resilient Futures Award from Forecasting Healthy Futures (see here).

Her interest in the climate and health nexus came from her experience playing football (soccer) right on the Equator (0°19’33.4″S), at altitudes around 2,800 meters (9,000 feet).

We have expanded to a 3-staff team and joined GeneraciónMAS of UNICEF Ecuador to amplify our impact.