Annual Report Spotlights PAHO Achievements

PAHO Director Mirta Roses presented her annual report to the region's ministers of health on the opening day of the Directing Council meeting.

The report, Working Together for the Health of the Americas, focuses on initiatives and achievements at both the country and regional levels during 2004–05. This year's edition reflects PAHO's growing "country focus," that is, work carried out in close cooperation with its Member States with the aim of producing visible improvements in health at the country level.

Among the key regional achievements cited in the report for the period were:

An additional 100,000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean gained access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV, as part of the PAHO/WHO "3 by 5" initiative to scale up treatment for HIV/AIDS.
The launch of a new regional initiative to reduce rates of maternal mortality, with 10 countries designated as top priority.
Vaccination Week in the Americas, which in 2004 reached some 44 million children and adults in 35 countries of the Americas.

Among the country-specific efforts highlighted were:

In Costa Rica, a new national alliance for safe motherhood involving government agencies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions.
In the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti, a partnership with the Catholic Medical Mission Board and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation aimed at improving child health through the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy.
In Chiapas, Mexico, a water and sanitation project by the Pan American Center for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences to reduce the prevalence of trachoma.
In Honduras, a national plan of action to fight Chagas' disease.
In Peru, a mass vaccination campaign targeting potential migrants into yellow fever risk areas, with vaccines donated by Brazil.
Support for the Amazon Initiative against Malaria and the Amazon Network for Monitoring of Antimalarial Drug Resistance, which coordinates research and action in malaria control.
In Uruguay, the launch of a Productive and Healthy Municipalities project that combines health interventions with employment generation in small rural communities.
In Bolivia, a partnership for environmental health involving departmental governments, international and bilateral development agencies, and the Ministry of Health.
In Haiti, the PROVIDA: Community in Action project, which combats violence in poor urban areas and improves basic sanitation services.
In Mexico, support for mental health reform efforts, including community-based mental health services and legislation and policies to protect the rights of people with mental disorders.
Joint efforts by Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago to build a port surveillance network to prevent the spread of disease through the transport of people and goods.

	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas