Press Releases
Medical Professionals Worldwide Endorse WHO Checklist for Safer Surgery (6/26/2008)
A new safety checklist for surgical procedures developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) won the endorsements of nearly 250 health organizations from over 40 countries at a launching event yesterday at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C. Read more
PAHO Launches Safe Surgery Saves Lives - 2nd WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge (6/20/2008)
The World Health Organization (WHO) will launch its new global initiative "Safe Surgery Saves Lives," aimed at improving the safety of surgery in countries around the world, on June 25, 2008, 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., at PAHO headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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Vaccination week in the Americas advances on goals (4/25/2008)
Regional objective: Vaccinate 62 million people
With a spirit of integration and Pan-Americanism, health authorities carried out launches and immunization activities in all countries and territories of the Americas this week, working to vaccinate 62 million children, young people and adults throughout the Region, including indigenous populations in border areas. Read more
World Health Day 2008 to Highlight Health Effects of Climate Change (4/4/2008)
The effects of global climate change on human health and the need for action to prevent adverse impacts will be the focus of World Health Day 2008, which this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). Read more
Chronic Diseases, Everyone's Epidemic (3/31/2008)
Chronic diseases used to be considered "diseases of the rich," but today developing countries are facing a tsunami of deaths and illness due to cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The good news, says an article in PAHO's e-zine Perspectives in Health, is that most of it can be prevented. Read more
Update on Jungle Yellow Fever (JYF) in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. (2/11/2008)
Yellow fever is a zoonosis of the tropical regions of South America and Africa, which occurs in two distinct epidemiologic cycles: jungle and urban. In the jungle cycle, the virus spreads among monkeys and humans, who may be infected when they enter the jungle and are bitten by mosquitoes infected with the yellow fever virus. Urban yellow fever has long been eradicated from the Americas, with the last cases occurring in Brazil in 1942. Read more
PAHO Director, Dr. Mirta Roses: “In the Americas there is an increased awareness of the importance of research” (2/8/2008)
PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses passionately affirmed today the critical importance of health research, particularly with regards to making sure that scientific knowledge and breakthroughs thanks to research development can truly and effectively be translated to the benefit of all peoples, both in developed as well as in developing countries alike. Read more
PAHO Calls for End to Violence against Women (11/21/2006)
Singer Jerry Rivera today joined forces with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to launch a new public service campaign to raise awareness of violence against women and of the need to end the widespread problem in the Americas and around the world. Read more
International Day of the World's Indigenous People Highlights Health Gaps (8/8/2006)
On the International Day of the World's Indigenous People observed today, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) experts noted that 40 percent of indigenous people in the Americas still lack access to conventional health care services. Coupled with serious issues of inequity and discrimination, this situation poses a serious obstacle in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. Read more
World Breastfeeding Week Starts Aug. 1 in the Americas (7/31/2006)
Countries throughout the Americas are joining together to observe World Breastfeeding Week. The week of August 1-7 has the theme, "Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding," highlighting the importance of national enforceable legislation on the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Read more
Mental disorders in Latin America and the Caribbean Forecast to Increase (12/9/2005)
The number of people with mental disorders in the Region of the Americas is forecast to increase from 114 million in 1990 to 176 million in 2010, according to the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Mirta Roses. Read more
Food Safety Experts Agree Plan to Improve Food Safety in the Americas and Caribbean (12/9/2005)
Urgent measures are needed across Latin America and the Caribbean to improve food safety and the availability of food, both to reduce the level of disease and death and also to make it easier to export the region's numerous food products to the rest of the world, 200 regional food-safety experts and regulators agreed today. Read more
In Brasilia: First Hemispheric Meeting on Alcohol Public Policies (11/28/2005)
Some of the world's top experts on alcohol abuse and public policy are gathered in Brazil this week to discuss ways of reducing the harmful effects of alcohol on public health in the Americas. Read more
PAHO Awards to Latin American Physicians, Scholars, Researchers (9/27/2005)
Three Latin American physicians, scholars and researchers were this year's recipients of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF) awards in the fields of medicine, health care and bioethics. Read more
Citizen Security Theme is Focus of Forum in Colombia (9/12/2005)
Latin American presidents, ministers, big-city mayors and over 600 senior officials convened in Medellin, Colombia, this week to discuss the challenges posed by violence and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more
HIV/AIDS Awareness: German Cycling Team Aims for New Record (8/25/2005)
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is supporting a unique initiative to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Americas, by a group of German cyclists determined to set a world record along the Pan American Highway. Read more
PAHO Plans Response to New HPV Vaccine (8/19/2005)
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a process to respond to the introduction – sometime in mid-2006 – of a vaccine to immunize against a virus associated with cervical cancer. Read more
PAHO Director to Visit Canada (4/29/2005)
Dr. Mirta Roses, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) visits Canada next week to meet Health Minister Dr. Ujjal Dosanjh and other officials. Read more
Vaccination Week: Thousands of Health Workers in Remote Areas (4/29/2005)
Vaccination Week in the Americas is proceeding as planned, with legions of health workers heading deep into remote areas, border communities and marginal urban areas to reach people who have not received vaccines. Read more
PAHO Issues Call for Action on Healthy Mothers, Children (4/7/2005)
The Director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Mirta Roses, today called for a "renewed commitment" over the next five years to save the lives of 220,000 mothers who die in childbirth and children who die before reaching their first birthday. Read more
Protecting Quality of Life for Mothers and Babies (4/6/2005)
An expert panel on "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children: Emerging Public Health Issues in Newborn Health and Development," will be held at the Pan American Health Organization on April 8, 9:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Leading experts on neonatal care and child development will discuss strategies aimed at protecting the health and quality of life of mothers and children in the Americas. Read more
World Health Day April 7 to Focus on Mothers, Children (4/4/2005)
Maternal and child health is the theme for World Health Day 2005 celebration on April 7th, which also marks the launch of the 2005 edition of the WHO World Health Report, an annual "report card" of global health. Read more
Youth: Choices and Change (3/9/2005)
On Tuesday, March 17, a Press Conference on Youth: Choices and Change: will be a unique opportunity to hear what international experts working in the field of adolescence are saying about the power of early intervention to create positive lifelong behavior change. Read more
Wider Use of Simpler Cervical Cancer Screening Could Benefit Women in Developing Countries (1/27/2005)
An easy, inexpensive method using ordinary vinegar in screening women for cervical cancer could be applied in more situations in developing countries around the world, thus increasing the number of women whose disease is caught early and treated. Read more
The Importance of Exclusively Breastfeeding for the First Six Months (8/3/2004)
Exclusively breastfeeding infants for the first six months of their lives provides all the energy and nutrients a child needs while reducing the risks of infant diarrheal and respiratory infections, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Read more
Increased Physical Activity Called Priority for Americas (12/9/2003)
Just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity can lower or even eliminate the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and colon and breast cancers, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) journal article. Read more
PAHO supports project to improve attention in Hospital Escuela of Tegucigalpa (3/10/2003)
In an official visit to Honduras, Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, Director of the Pan American Health Organization, praised the country’s vaccination program and said the Organization will work with the Honduran government in a project to improve attention in the Hospital Escuela of Tegucigalpa. Read more
Radiation: benefits and dangers (3/7/2003)
Radiation can be both beneficial and harmful, depending on how it is used and how it is disposed of or stored after use. Safety in this area has been a priority for PAHO. Read more
Japan Participating Actively in the Fight Against Chagas’ Disease (3/3/2003)
In the battle to end Chagas’ disease in the Americas, Japan's International Cooperation Agency is an important participant. Together with PAHO, JICA is working to interrupt transmission of the disease by 2010. Read more
International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers (4/27/2001)
Advocates for health and safety in the workplace from some 100 countries are marking April 28 as "International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers" with a series of worldwide activities to commemorate the lives and protest the unnecessary suffering and deaths of victims of occupational abuse and neglect. Read more