Washington, D.C., HQ.
April 27, 2007.
WELCOME REMARKS DR. CRISTINA BEATO'S SWEARING IN CEREMONY

Dr. Carissa Etienne*
PAHO's Assistant Director

I wish also to express my sincere words of welcome to Cristina.
I wish to welcome you also on behalf of the Technical Areas of the Secretariat.

We welcome you today to one of the oldest public health institutions in the world and to the legacy which was created by the men and women who in a century worked selflessly for public health in the Americas and in whose footsteps we dare to follow.

This Organization has won the respect, confidence and trust of the peoples of the Americas, as well as the international community. We in the Secretariat proudly serve it.

You have come at an historic time when the Secretariat is on a path of transformation, to ensure relevance, excellence, transparency and accountability.

My colleagues at PAHO have heard me say this before. The survival of PAHO, like many species within the evolutionary process, depends on our ability to adapt, and transform toward becoming an organization that can address the needs and aspirations of the 21th century, a very different world. We welcome the opportunity of a fresh mind in the process.

We are deeply bound by a set of values:

Equity
Excellence
Solidarity
Respect
Integrity

These values speak to what this Organization has embodied and emulated over the century of its existence. These values guide the policies, processes and practices of our work.

We are challenged daily - each member of the Secretariat - to live out these values to the highest degree possible, each day striving harder and harder, reaching upwards. We welcome you to the daily struggle to ensure that together we do live out these values to the fullest.

The Secretariat is developing new ways of working in the delivery of its technical programs, building on experiences of the past, embracing evidence-based approaches and utilizing the modern approaches which lead to increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

As a clinician and public servant you have afforded a high premium to the evidence base for decision making and action. This Organization can ill-afford the luxury of the ineffective use of scarce resources. Yet at the same tine, we must not extinguish the pioneering spirit, which has characterized the work of this august Organization and has led to distinguished public health achievements over the years, and in more recent times the eradication of polio and the elimination of indigenous measles transmission. We will rely on you to continue challenging us in that respect.

We welcome you as an international civil servant in the Region of the world marked by the greatest inequity, inequities within and among countries. This is a Region where millions of women, children, indigenous peoples and many communities are denied access to the social determinants of health.

The Secretariat recognizes that Health for All will be impossible without progress in securing and maintaining access to these critical, basic conditions for survival.

I hail your stated interest in jointly working to address the health issues in the poorest and most disadvantaged country in this Hemisphere, and I am referring to Haiti. The well- being and quality of life of the peoples of Haiti continues to cry out for justice and the assurance of their human rights.

In many of our communities the situation is such the Millennium Development goals will not be achieved by 2015, and many more are at risk of non-achievement.

I recognize that you do believe that it cannot be business as usual and indeed these people can ill afford it.

Within these economic and social realities, and the dictates of globalization, we ponder, what is the role and responsibility of a public health agency like PAHO and what is the responsibility of the servants it employs? I ask you today to reflect on your own role and responsibility to the peoples of the Americas?

I am sure that you have meditated on this call to duty and I pray that this will occupy many of your waking hours. It does mine. How can we engage the attention and the resources of the public sector, the private sector and civil society in a manner that will guarantee well-being and advancement for all peoples? Thank you for having accepted to share our burden. We will be expecting you to bring leadership to the building of these partnerships, particularly within the private sector.

We welcome you to a body of scientists and health workers who are highly experienced, loyal to the Organization, and committed to its mission. It is Henry Ford who once said: "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."

We pledge to work with you, to struggle together, to achieve together, to learn together and, hopefully to witness the triumph of the peoples of the Americas in ensuring Health for All.

We welcome you to the new chapter of your unfolding story! May you write with bold lines!

God Bless you.

For more information please contact Mrs. Monica Brana, Program Officer,
Office of the Assistant Director, ph. 202-974-3766.