Dr. Héctor R. Acuña, of Mexico, was named PAHO director in 1975 after 20 years at the Organization. In response to member countries' growing public health capabilities and progress in health throughout the Region, he spearheaded a major reorganization of PAHO emphasizing information and management systems and delegating greater responsibility to its field offices.

A government health worker administers antimalarial drugs to children in Paraguay in 1978. Despite decades of eradication efforts, the disease remained endemic in the Americas. In a 1997 address to members of the Study Group on Malaria Control in the Americas, PAHO Director Dr. Héctor R. Acuña noted, "We see programs stalled in some countries and in certain areas an outright deterioration in the disease's epidemiological situation."

At the home of a rural indigenous family in Guatemala in the 1970s, a health worker tests a small boy's intellectual development as part of PAHO-supported research on the effects of nutritional status on child development.

A rural family receives a visit from a community health worker, part of growing efforts in the Americas to widen access to health services. A PAHO-supported goal for the Region during the 1970s was "to provide primary health care to all by the year 2000."

Dr. Pedro N. Acha (1931-1988), a world-renowned public health veterinarian, spent nearly 30 years at PAHO. His contributions included building new links between the health and agriculture sectors and factoring economic and social considerations into public health. His Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals (coauthored with Boris Szyfres) became the definitive text on the subject. Today PAHO presents an annual award in his name to encourage research in veterinary public health.

Dr. Carlyle Guerra de Macedo served as director of PAHO from 1983 to 1995. A distinguished public health figure in Brazil, he pursued an international career and launched PAHO's successful drive to eradicate polio from the Americas. Dr. Macedo was named director emeritus following his retirement in 1995.