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Dr. Mirta Roses Reelected as Director of Pan American Health Organization

Washington, D.C., October 3, 2007 (PAHO)—Dr. Mirta Roses of Argentina was reelected today to a second five-year term as Director of the Pan American Health Organization by Ministers of Health at the annual meeting of the Americas' top health authorities, the Pan American Sanitary Conference.

"I am profoundly and sincerely grateful for this expression of wholehearted support and the extraordinary honor that you have just bestowed upon me," Dr. Roses said, adding that "Promoting health for all is the North Star that guides and inspires us. I am moved by the renewed energy that the Region has generated with Primary Health Care."

In her acceptance speech, which included portions in all four official languages of PAHO, Dr. Roses noted, "Good ideas have the virtue of being contagious-especially when the inspiration is health, as demonstrated by Vaccination Week in the Americas, whose 5th edition reached 55 million children, adolescent, adults and older persons and has inspired similar efforts in other regions."

As the first woman to head PAHO, Dr. Roses said, her election "demonstrates that the commitments to gender equity made by the Member States, PAHO and WHO, and the entire United Nations system, can become a reality. The Director-General of WHO is a woman, half the Representative Offices in the countries are headed by women, and 13 of our Ministers of Health are women."

Dr. Roses said "We have made great strides in all the key areas," although some still need strengthening. She noted that in the search for equity, "We are halfway to our target date and we must redouble our efforts to ensure that the health goals set in the Millennium Development Goals, especially the reduction of infant mortality and the elimination of chronic malnutrition, are met and become a tangible reality for the most forgotten and excluded women and children."

An Argentine physician and public health expert who began her life in public health as a volunteer nurse and immunization worker in the smallpox eradication efforts in Argentina, Dr. Roses said, "Serving our hopeful, striving peoples who aspire to better living and health conditions is, after all, the ultimate purpose of our efforts. It is why I came to public health from the domains of clinical medicine and the epidemiology of communicable disease, serving in my country's Ministry of Health and later deciding to join the Organization. "

PAHO, she said, "The proud heir to an invaluable and more than century-old tradition of promoting public health, in the 21st Century will continue to forge the new model of joint action in service to the peoples of the Region."

"The successes that we have achieved and challenges before us remind us that we share the most beautiful of missions, serving our fellow man, our brothers and sisters throughout the Americas, promoting greater and better public health for all to prolong life, reduce disease, pain and suffering, and ensure a productive life with dignity for all the inhabitants of the Hemisphere," Dr. Roses said.

WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan congratulated Dr. Roses, saying "This is a strong vote of confidence and a serious and heavy responsibility. I'm confident that you will rise above the challenges and meet the expectations the people have of you."

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

Link of interest:

• Dr. Mirta Roses' acceptance speech

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).