The Latin American Association for the Study of the Liver (ALEH) was founded in São Paulo in 1968, under the leadership of Professor Silvano Raia, who initially thought of a society in South America. That's how ALEH was founded. The first meeting was held in the city of São Paulo in 1968, with the participation of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. Although these countries are still of great relevance in the organization of society, there has been a significant increase of member countries, now involving several South and Central American nations.
The main characteristic of this association is the scientific activities in the clinical area, without neglecting the basic area, although the latter with less emphasis.
The organizational structure of ALEH consists of a Board of Directors which includes the President of ALEH, the next two Presidents, two Secretaries appointed by the current President, its Executive Director and the Past-President, with the aim of giving continuity to the actions outlined. Additionally, it has a delegate from each member country, being as a rule the president of the local society of each country. In this way, countries are represented in political and administrative decisions.
The official organ of dissemination of ALEH is the Journal "Annal of Hepatology", a publication based on Mexico, but with international indexing and with an outstanding growth among similar publications.
In addition to continuing medical and activities that stimulate the development of hepatology in Latin America, a congress is held once a year where the participation of experts from each country dedicated to the study of liver diseases is prioritized. On this ocassion, there is a healthy exchange of scientific experiences and invaluable personal relationship, essential to strengthen ties of friendship and joint work.
In these events, there is always participation of researcher from Europe and the United States. This intercontinental union is becoming more and more present since an alliance was established between the American Society for the Study of Liver Diseases (ASSLD), the European Society (EASL) and ALEH in 2007. Every year the Global Liver Summit is held, where representatives of the fives continental hepatology societies (AASLD, EASL, ALEH, APASL and AFASL) are present with the goal of strengthening ties, discussing major political and administrative aspects.