PAHO Unveils New Strategies, and a Focus on Equity, at Regional Committee Meeting Latin America & Caribbean 04/10/2024 • Sophia Samantaroy Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) The 61st Pan American Health Organization Directing Council adopted health policies for the region ranging from tobacco cessastion to climate and health. WASHINGTON DC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) wrapped up its 61st Directing Council on Friday, after member states adopted policies ranging from health system strengthening to climate and health adaptation and mitigation. The council also reflected on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and presented a roadmap for a new strategic plan for the next six years. These discussions, held between 30 September and 4 October, come a few months following Hurricane Beryl’s devastation of the Caribbean and a historically high dengue transmission. Reflecting on the past year’s achievements, PAHO leadership noted how these challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed the region’s structural dependence on imported vaccines, the geographic concentration of innovation and production capacities, and vulnerable global supply chains. Despite these challenges, PAHO continues to implement innovative policies, leveraging lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to tackle more than 30 communicable diseases through its Elimination Initiative. “This is an achievable goal,” said PAHO Director General Dr Jarbos Barbosa da Silva in his presentation of the region’s annual report. “The lessons learned from the pandemic are challenges that we must recognize, learn from and be prepared to face again. Despite this, I am pleased to say that we have made progress,” Barbosa said. Detailing PAHO’s work in the past year, Barbosa praised a new noncommunicable disease (NCD) initiative in light of the Region’s growing drivers of morbidity and mortality such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. “This program is grounded in our conviction that primary health care is the backbone of resilient health systems and the best entry point for timely care,” continued Barbosa. PAHO’s HEART initiative, its model of care for cardiovascular risk management, with special emphasis on the control of hypertension and secondary prevention in primary health care, has already 4.4 million people under treatment. “If the Americas improved population-based hypertension control from the current level of 36% to a target of 50%, over 400 000 cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths could be avoided. Furthermore, if secondary CVD prevention efforts were expanded, many more deaths could be averted.” Barbosa also reflected on the progress of its other flagship programs: the Zero Maternal Deaths Initiative, the digital transformation of the health sector, and the strengthening of regional production and Regional Revolving Funds. With these programs tackling a wide range of health challenges, Barbosa noted that the “work over the past year has been guided by two fundamental principles: an appetite for innovation and a commitment to equity. Equity is our moral compass in the pursuit of health for all people. And innovation reflects the drive to always improve the way we work, adopting the best tools and evidence that can generate the greatest impact.” ‘A source of pride’: routine vaccinations bounce back PAHO director general Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva (second from left) announced an “ambitious” roadmap for a new regional strategy at the 61st Directing Council. The meeting provided a space for member states and PAHO leadership to reflect on regional achievements, including the recovery of routine vaccination rates. The Region of the Americas made the most progress in the recovery of routine vaccination coverage following the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. “In the last two years, the countries of the region managed to halt the decline in routine vaccination coverage and, in fact, achieved an increase for most antigens, achieving, as I mentioned this morning, 88% coverage for the third dose of the DTP vaccine,” said Barbosa. “I believe this is a source of pride for each of the countries present here.” Strengthening action on climate and health Fishing vessels at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex in Barbados damaged by Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024. Member states approved a new policy on health and climate change. This aims to strengthen health sector action on health and climate change with a particular focus on equity given the vulnerability of the region, its economic dependence on “climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and tourism, and high levels of social inequality,” said the document. “Progress toward addressing climate change and its health impacts has been uneven across the Region of the Americas. Only a few countries are implementing essential health adaptation and mitigation measures, and most such efforts have given insufficient consideration to health equity,” notes the document. With five lines of action, the climate change and health policy aims to strengthen adaptation and mitigation to climate change and health, ensure active community participation, especially involving those in vulnerable situations, and improve surveillance systems as well as increase climate and health financing. “Climate change threatens to worsen existing health inequities, disproportionately affecting populations and territories in vulnerable situations,” said Gerry Eijkemans, PAHO director of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity, in a press release. This is why “the health sector must take immediate and decisive action on climate change and health, with specific efforts to integrate equity in adaptation and mitigation measures,” she added. The council also approved measures to address Indigenous health, tobacco control, and epidemic surveillance. Image Credits: PAHO/Karina Zambrana, PAHO/Karina Zambrana, UNDP. 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