Introduction: As efforts continue to narrow the digital divide between the North and South, a new biomedical and health informatics training effort has been launched in Peru. This report describes the first year of work on this collaborative effort between the University of Washington (Seattle) Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and Universidad Nacional de San Marcos (Peru) Objectives: To describe activities in the first year of a new International Research and Training Program in Biomedical and Health Informatics. Methods: Descriptive analysis of key activities including an assessment of electronic environment through observation and survey, an in country short course with quantitative evaluation, and first round of recruitment of Peruvian scholars for long-term training in Seattle. Results: A two-week short course on informatics was held in the country. Participants' success in learning was demonstrated through pretest/posttest. A systematic assessment of electronic environment in Peru was carried out and two scholars for long-term training were enrolled at the University of Washington, Seattle. Discussion: Initial activity in the collaborative training effort has been high. Of particular importance in this environment is orchestration of efforts among interested parties with similar goals in Peru, and integration of informatics skills into ongoing large-scale research projects in country. © 2001 IMIA. All right reserved.