U.S. Celebrates PAHO Centennial

The United States Department of Health and Human Services celebrated the Centennial of the Pan American Health Organization today with a ceremony opening an exhibit at the National Library of Medicine.

"PAHO has made many notable contributions to public health," said HHS Deputy Secretary Claude A. Allen. "This portable exhibit will travel throughout HHS all year to show some of these accomplishments." Recounting some of the Pan American Health Organization's "firsts" in being the oldest international health organization, supervising the first treaty ever signed by all countries in the Americas, running fellowship programs for the hemisphere, and others, Allen said, "We look forward to working together for many more years."

The HHS exhibit, "A 100-year quest for health in the Americas 1902-2002," consists of 12 panels outlining the history of the Organization, starting 100 years ago when the First General International Sanitary Convention of the American Republics met in Washington and created what became PAHO. U.S. Surgeon General Walter Wyman served as its first chairman, and his successors in that post, Rupert Blue and Hugh Cumming, were also directors of PAHO. The scope of the collaboration between PAHO and HHS broadened over subsequent years to cover water and sanitation, tobacco control, training, border health, disease eradication, the fight against HIV/AIDS, and many other areas.

"This exhibit highlights our collaborative achievements over the past hundred years. It is in that spirit that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services celebrates PAHO's Centennial with this exhibit," said HHS.

Rear Adm. Richard Walling of HHS' Office of Global Health Affairs said, "We thank you for your dedication to the health of the people of the Americas. We hope that as this exhibit travels throughout the country many people in the United States gain an understanding of the importance of PAHO's work in international health."

PAHO's Deputy Director, Dr. David Brandling-Bennett, thanked HHS for the celebration, noting "A hundredth birthday is always a special occasion." Outlining the close collaboration over the years between PAHO and many U.S. government agencies in a variety of health fields Dr. Bennett said "We believe that the United States has been not just a contributor to PAHO's work but also a beneficiary," citing successful disease control programs as one example. Since the events of Sept. 11, he said, "it is clear that this region faces another challenge, perhaps not so new but more clearly in focus, that of biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism. That challenge must be faced by all of PAHO's Member States together, just as we faced the threat of infectious diseases 100 years ago when PAHO was established. The treat of the intentional use of a biological, chemical, or radiological agent affects us all and must be addressed by us in common."