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Hemisphere's Health Authorities Open PAHO Annual Meeting

Washington, D.C., October 1, 2007 (PAHO)—The annual meeting of the Americas' top health authorities opened today at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a welcome from WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, who told health ministers, "I am personally grateful to you. This is the region that kept the torch for primary health care burning bright. When the year 2000 passed, and talk about Health for All lost its place in the international health debate, this region maintained - even strengthened - its commitment to primary health care. I am glad you did."

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt told delegates, "There is so much more to do - both in providing care directly, and in training more health workers so they can provide high-quality care in their communities. I know that many of you today are engaged in similar work, both at home and elsewhere. I applaud the work you are doing, and I want you to know that the President and I are fully committed to this effort. I look forward to continuing our strong partnership through PAHO to speak to those in need in the 'language of caring,' and to share health and well-being with those less fortunate."

Dr. Chan said, "Nearly everywhere I travel, nearly every meeting I attend, I see the values, principles and approaches of primary health care resurfacing. They are not always labeled as such. But they are there. This is what I hear. Communities must be engaged. Health initiatives must be country-led and country-owned. The best help is self-help. Prevention is the greatest power of public health. The underlying causes of ill health must be addressed. Medicines must be affordable and accessible. Universal coverage should be the goal. And perhaps most important: equitable health outcomes are the ultimate measure of a well-performing health system."

"The Declaration of Alma-Ata," Dr. Chan added, "signed almost 30 years ago, was all about equity and social justice. The Millennium Development Goals are all about equity and social justice. Primary health care was designed to achieve equitable and sustainable health development. Health for All may not have achieved all of its goals, but the primary health care approach itself is sustainably relevant. In fact, its elements almost have a life of their own, coming again to the surface, regaining their place at the centre of the development agenda."

At the opening session, Dr. Maria Soledad Barria, was elected President of the 27th Pan American Sanitary Conference, which brings together ministers of health and other high-level delegates from PAHO member countries to discuss health policies and actions to address the region's major health challenges. Dr. Barria emphasized the importance of social protection in health and the need to advance in equity and social inclusion as essential requisites to achieve integrated health. Elected as vice presidents were the Dominican Republic and Surinam.

Secretary Leavitt said a key part of the President's initiative to advance the cause of social justice in the Western Hemisphere "focuses on meeting basic needs for education, housing, and health care, and since April, we have made some significant progress on health care. With our partners in Central America, we have opened a Regional Training Center in Panamá to train health-care workers throughout Central America for service in their home countries." He added that "The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is another valuable asset that we have committed to the region. In June, we deployed Commissioned Corps officers aboard the US Navy Ship Comfort to provide dental and other basic medical care in Central America and the Caribbean. By the end of August, the Comfort had treated more than 64,000 patients for a broad range of conditions. Some received antibiotics to fight parasites and respiratory infections. Others underwent surgery to correct cataracts, hernias, and club-feet. The Comfort's dental teams performed over 3,000 extractions, 3,000 restorations, 5,000 sealants, and 13,000 applications of fluoride varnish."

"I flew out to visit the ship last month when it stopped in Haiti," Leavitt said. "I can tell you firsthand how much this care meant to the people receiving it. They knew that, without our help, they would simply never have been able to receive this basic care - care that truly changed their lives. Health care is truly an international language of caring. Everywhere we went, people understood, without a word being said, that we were their friends. The efforts that I have described today are a meaningful start to an important change, but they are just a start. There is so much more to do - both in providing care directly, and in training more health workers so they can provide high-quality care in their communities."

The health ministers are also discussing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome today, as the PAHO region enters the final stages of rubella elimination and faces the challenge of maintaining vaccine coverage at over 95 percent to achieve this goal. Dr Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, First Lady of the Dominican Republic, attended this session Monday and was honored for her work in promoting rubella elimination.

The two-volume Health in the Americas publication and the Quinquennial Report of PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses was also released at the Conference today.

The full schedule and all documents for the conference are available online.

The Pan American Health Organization, founded in 1902, works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples. It serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO).