Brazil - Centennial Celebrations

Event Celebrated PAHO Centennial in Style

Brazil honored PAHO's centennial in a December 11 event attended by some 2.500 guests, including high-level government officials and representatives of the country's national, state and local health councils; the diplomatic corps; international agencies; NGOs and academy.

The event honored five national Outstanding Health Figures and five institutions for their contributions to public health.

Other highlights of the evening included the launching of a PAHO commemorative postal stamp and the presentation of the book Public Health Paths in Brazil, published jointly by PAHO's country office in Brazil and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Brazilian pop star Jorge Ben Jor performed a closing concert.

Congress of Veterinarian Medicine celebrated PAHO's centennial

During the ceremony, several distinguished veterinary health professionals were presented commemorative centennial medals. The centennial celebration was also in evidence during the VIII Exhibit of Products and Services in Veterinary Medicine at the PANAFTOSA booth.

Seminar Celebrates Centennial

Brazil's sponsorship of special centennial meetings continued in June at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro where the PAHO centennial was celebrated during the Second International Seminar on Health, Environment and Development. In July the 18th National Congress of Municipal Health Authorities was held. During this meeting, the country's national health councils were awarded a special PAHO centennial medal for their work in promoting public health and supporting the national Unified Heath System.

Scientific Meetings Honor Centennial

Brazil is hosting a series of major national and international scientific meeting this year, each of which will honor PAHO's centennial. They include the Second Global Meeting to Eliminate Leprosy, held in January; the meeting of the South American Comission on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, held in March; the Latin American Congress on Health Promotion, to be held in October; and the Fourth World Congress on Bioethics in October/November.

Brazil kicked off the Centennial Celebrations!!

Brasilia, December 5, 2001 (OPAS) - Presided over by the Minister of Health, Jose Serra, the Minister of External Relations, Celso Lafer, the Minister of Education, Pablo Renato Souza, the Minister of Agriculture and Supplying, Marcos Vinicius Pratini de Moraes, the Presidents of the National Health Foundation, Mauro Ricardo Machado Costa and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Pablo Marchiori Buss, and representatives from research centers, state and municipal universities, and secretariats of health, were invited to a luncheon to open the centennial year.

Other planned activities:

• Organizing roundtables and debates about 100 years of health (for instance, Conference on Epidemiology, World Ethics Conference
• Issuing of a commemorative stamp
• Award to be presented at the Gramado Film Festival by the PWR offices in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to celebrate the event within the context of MERCOSUR.
• Public Health Heroes (as per established criteria) but for institutions rather than individuals
• Champions of Health (as per established criteria) but for institutions
• Launch a commemorative book about 100 years of health in Brazil
• 100 years of health in print - countdown box appears daily in Correio Braziliense (newspaper)
• Call for Research papers related to the Centennial
• Walks for Health on WHD in 2002
• Establish plan with churches to include health in the religious ceremonies on WHD in 2002
• Produce and distribute TV and radio spots to be placed for free in various outlets
• Production of a series of posters/artwork by renowned artist Antonio Poteiro alluding to health. They will also be used for a calendar
• National Theater Symphony Orchestra concert in December 2002; including many Latin American composers

Please visit www.opas.org.br for the latest information.

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