WHO Salutes Peru for TB Success
The World Health Organization (WHO) gave special recognition to Peru in March for its successful use of the tuberculosis treatment and control strategy known as DOTS, based on directly observed treatment of the disease. Peru, through its Ministry of Health, was one of six countries recognized for their successful use of DOTS. The others were Cuba, Maldives, Morocco, Tunisia and Vietnam. In a statement, WHO Director-General LEE Jongwook applauded Peru's "intense work over the last decade," which has made it "a model for effective action against tuberculosis in a country with a high burden of the disease." Peru is one of only a few countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis that have achieved the WHO goals of 70 percent case detection and 85 percent treatment success. As a result, the country has reduced the number of registered cases by 50 percent in 10 years.

Maternal Mortality Higher in Indigenous Women
The rates of maternal mortality found in indigenous communities are among the highest in the Americas, according to the latest issue of Healing Our Spirit Worldwide, the Pan American Health Organization's bulletin on indigenous health. According to a PAHO supported study reported in the bulletin, "In Bolivia, [maternal mortality] averages 390 per 100,000 live births [data for 1993]. But in the department of Potosí, the rate is 496 per 100,000." In the towns of Caiza and Cotagaita, in the department of Potosí, only 24 percent of women have access to the services of skilled birth attendants, according to the report. The bulletin's current issue also contains excerpts from an address by Aymara leader Martha Gonzáles Cochi at PAHO headquarters in February, along with an article by Quechua-Hispanic anthropologist José Yánez del Pozo on the covenant produced by the fourth Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2002, and other reports on activities in the area of indigenous health throughout the Americas. The bulletin can be requested by e-mail.

PAHO Initiative Targets Violence in Asunción
An anti-violence program spearheaded by PAHO's country office in Asunción, Paraguay, has helped reduce levels of violence and injury in the country's capital. Working with Asunción Mayor Enrique Riera, the PAHO office helped develop a series of measures aimed at curbing alcohol consumption, drunk driving and traffic crashes. Components of the program included driver training for 37 female bus drivers (to address the city's high rates of bus crashes) and passage of a new city ordinance that restricts the legal hours of sales for alcoholic beverages and provides tougher penalties for drunk driving. Since the ordinance took effect in January, injuries and deaths resulting from violence have declined significantly, along with general crime and traffic crashes, according to data collected by the mayor's office.

Argentine Cities Getting Healthier
More than 280 mayors and municipal authorities participated in Argentina's Third National Healthy Municipalities and Communities Days, held in March in Buenos Aires. The event highlighted efforts by the Argentine Network of Healthy Municipalities and Communities to implement healthy public policies at the local level, using strategies based on community participation and multisectoral action. During the event, members received technical assistance and training in various areas of public health and shared experiences and lessons learned.

Among initiatives spotlighted during the event were an alcohol and traffic safety campaign from the city of Ensenada, family vegetable gardens in Clorinda, and a small-business "incubator" in Malargüe. PAHO and Argentina's Ministry of Health are members of the network, which was formed in 2001.

Mexico Ratifies Anti-Tobacco Accord
Mexico has become the first country in the Americas to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. A delegation of Mexican health officials delivered the ratified treaty to United Nations headquarters in New York in late May. The convention requires countries to impose restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion; to establish new packaging and labeling requirements for tobacco products; to set clean indoor air controls; and to strengthen laws against tobacco smuggling. "We salute the strong commitment of the secretary of health of Mexico, who has developed a successful strategy that led to this action," said PAHO Director Mirta Roses.

Workshop Involves Men in Reproductive Health
A workshop designed to promote men's participation in sexual and reproductive health was held in El Salvador in late April, organized by PAHO's country office with support from El Salvador's Ministry of Health and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ). The goal was to develop models for involving men in positive ways in an area traditionally delegated to women. Participants examined the results of a survey of Central American countries that found that half of men think condoms do not protect against HIV and that 80 percent believe long term use of birth control pills causes infertility. However, 70 percent of men say they think couples should make decisions about contraception together.

Gender Focus Lacking in Health Reforms
The lack of a gender perspective is endangering key objectives of the process of health sector reform, according to participants in a workshop held at PAHO headquarters in April. Fifteen experts attending the two-day meeting agreed that the goals of increasing equity, quality, efficiency and social participation through health sector reform cannot be met without a gender focus, which has been largely absent in the reform process to date. The workshop discussed the challenges of and opportunities for incorporating a gender perspective, which would facilitate, for example, recognition and measurement of women's unpaid work in home health care, which represents an estimated 80 percent of health care outside specialized services.

Baby boosters

PAHO Deputy Director Joxel García (r.) and Moisés Pérez, president of the Alianza Dominicana and a former PAHO consultant, hold infants in the Alianza's New York City daycare center. The Alianza promotes the well-being of the city's Hispanic community.