PAHO, OTCA to Collaborate on Amazon Health
The secretary general of the Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (OTCA), Rosalía Arteaga Serrano, and the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Mirta Roses, signed an agreement in February to work together to improve health conditions in the Amazon regions of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname. The accord will form the basis for joint health actions in environmental health; communicable diseases, particularly malaria; epidemiological surveillance; sustainable development; and access to services, among others. During the signing event, Roses noted, “The Amazon is one of the most valuable and most threatened regions and is fundamental for the survival of many threatened species, including humans. But in addition to its ecological and touristic value, it is a reservoir of viruses and bacteria, of potentially dangerous pathogens as well as therapeutic agents. All of this is part of its essential importance to public health."

Nutrition Handbook for People with HIV/AIDS
The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) has concluded a regionwide promotion of a handbook for people living with HIV/AIDS that spells out the importance of good nutritional habits. Healthy Eating for Better Living is now available in 18 Caribbean countries. The final launch took place in the Bahamas in February at a workshop for HIV/AIDS patients and care-givers. Minister of Health Marcus Bethel noted during the event that poor nutritional habits contribute to immune system compromise, increasing the susceptibility of people with HIV/AIDS to other infections. Studies have shown that good nutrition can delay the development of AIDS following infection with HIV. CFNI has published a similar book for health professionals and is organizing nutrition training for care-givers in several countries. CFNI's Nutrition and AIDS project is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency.

Chile Study Focuses on Disabled Citizens
Chile's first National Study on Disability, released in late January, shows that one in eight Chileans—12.9 percent of the population—lives with some form of disability, and one in three Chilean households has a disabled member. Carried out by the National Fund for Disabilities (FONADIS), the study surveyed 14,000 households to determine the scope, distribution and nature of disabilities in the Chilean population. It employed a methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and PAHO/WHO provided support for the study. Its findings will be used to establish priorities in programs and actions by both national and local officials. Among other findings of the study: more women (58.2 percent) than men (41.8 percent) in Chile are disabled, half of disabled Chileans have completed a basic education, one in eight has finished middle school, and only one in 20 has any higher education. Only one-third are gainfully employed.

Bolivia Opens New Kidney Institute
Bolivia in late January inaugurated a new Institute of Nephrology, the first facility in the country to specialize exclusively in kidney disease. The institute will carry out activities in the areas of education, prevention, early detection and treatment of renal disease. It has support from Bolivia's Ministry of Health, the Bolivian Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, and PAHO. Preliminary data suggest that some 70 out of 100,000 Bolivians have renal disease, and 800 men, women and children develop kidney disease each year. A urine test to determine if one is at risk of renal disease costs only 10 bolivianos (about $1.25), while the cost of kidney dialysis runs 4.500 ($560) per month. The mayor of La Paz, Juan Del Granado, and Rosario Quiroga, vice minister of health, were on hand for the new institute's inauguration.

Cyber Network Offers Journalism Award
Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking journalists in South and Central America and the Caribbean are invited to apply for a new Latin American Award for Health Journalism. The award is offered by Red Salud ("Health Network”), a cyber network created by PAHO, the Communication Initiative, and the Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism to encourage more and better media coverage of public health topics. This year’s award will recognize excellence in coverage of issues related to antiretroviral treatment of HIV/AIDS. The winning entry will offer useful, clear and valid information about the treatment, progress, and effects of, as well as access to, antiretroviral drugs in Latin America. Submissions must have been published or broadcast between January 1, 2004, and April 30, 2005, and the submission deadline is May 7. Contestants should have at least three years of journalism experience in Latin American print, broadcast or electronic media. First prize will be $2,000, with second and third prizes of $1,000 and $500. Visit www.comminit.com/la/redsalud.

Child Health Program Receives Spanish Award
The Ibero-American Association of Medicine and School and University Health gave a special award to a PAHO initiative to improve and promote child health in the Americas. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) program received the Dr. Tolosa-Latour Institutional Award in November 2004. It cited IMCI as "the main available intervention for improving child health conditions" and for being a "key strategy for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals." The award is granted every year to organizations, institutions or public programs for outstanding work in defense of the rights of health, education, and child welfare. Yehuda Benguigui, who heads PAHO's IMCI program, was given the award at the closing of the International Week of Primary Care for Infants and Youth in Toledo, Spain. IMCI is a strategy launched by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1996 as the principal tool to improve child health.

Health Conference Calls for More Research
An international conference in Mexico City in November 2004 called for increased support for health research to help eradicate poverty and improve public health. The Global Forum for Health Research drew some 700 participants, including PAHO Director Mirta Roses and WHO Director- General LEE Jong-wook, to discuss the role of health research in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The conference's final statement called for: increases in the amount and pace of health research focused on improving health and lifespans; more research on equity and accountability in the global health system; commitment of at least 2 percent of developing countries’ national health budgets to support health research and strengthen capacity in this area; an increased role for civil society in developing an agenda for research and applying the knowledge and technologies it produces; and greater priority on research and development that lead to products that address the needs of developing countries.