In any culture, as we grow older, the most valued aspect of quality of life is likely to be our health. Despite the passage of time, we hope to maintain physical and cognitive vigor and vitality for as long as possible, since this makes our lives more stimulating and productive and our families and the community can continue to benefit from our experiences and accomplishments. Clearly, healthy aging is everyone's goal and an achievement to be celebrated by society as a whole.

At the close of the 20th century, older adults are among the fastest growing segments of the population in the countries of the Americas. In the next millennium, this group is poised to make major contributions to the socioeconomic progress of our nations. Our cover story in this issue highlights the gamut of political, ethical, economic, and public health issues that government leaders will need to face in the coming years. Our success in empowering the older population will come through our ability to create opportunities for healthy aging across the lifespan.

Within this health promotion and protection construct, our point of departure must be an intergenerational approach that seeks to foster harmony and genuine psychosocial bonding among human beings of all ages. Social cohesion and lifelong individual development enrich one another and indeed require one another's presence for each's minimal expression.

Today's cult of the young has blinded us to the reality that aging is a normal and universal part of life. As we move together down the age continuum and the ranks of older adults grow larger, increasing responsibility will fall on the education, public information, and entertainment sectors to change the perceptions today's society holds about aging and to more vigorously promote the early development of behaviors that will sustain a healthy and disability-free life for as long as possible.

In 1999, we will highlight these and other longevity issues with two special year-long events: the United Nations' International Year of Older Persons and World Health Day, sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. We look forward to your participation with us in these activities.

Vaccines are one of public health's most effective tools for promoting quality of life, whether to prevent childhood morbidity and mortality or to help keep aging populations free of disabling diseases for as long as possible. As one of the article in this edition shows, future vaccine research and development may enable us to rid the world of many deadly diseases.

Oswaldo Cruz, at the turn of the century in Brazil, was among the first to show the efficacy of vaccine research and keeping the public safe from disease. One of our stories illustrates how a public leader's burning desire to make a difference in people's lives through improved health standards raised Brazilians' overall quality of life and helped transform a country's development level at a crucial point in its history.

As the 1990s and the International Decade for Disaster Reduction draw to a close, countries and communities have witnessed first-hand the indispensable nature of disaster prevention and mitigation programs. In 1997-1998, El Niño caused widespread damage and economic loss throughout the Americas, while the more recent Hurricanes Georges and Mitch brought massive human tragedy and destruction to the Caribbean and Central America. The stories on El Niño and Hurricane Mitch point out once again the importance of a strong international network for cooperation to reduce human suffering and the socioeconomic disruption caused by disasters.

As always, we encourage your letters and comments about the issues we place before you for consideration.

To your health,