MEDIA ADVISORY: Americas Health Summit Starts Monday, Sept. 23

WHO: Health Ministers from all countries in the Americas gather in Washington Monday, Sept. 23 for the week-long Pan American Sanitary Conference, the policy-setting governing body of the Pan American Health Organization.

WHEN: The conference starts Monday, Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. and runs through Friday, Sept. 27.

WHERE: All meetings are at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization, 525 23rd. St., NW in Washington (Corner of Virginia Ave. & 23rd St., four blocks south of Foggy Bottom Metro).

WHAT: The Pan American Sanitary Conference is the supreme governing body of the Pan American Health Organization. Composed of Ministers of Health from all countries in the Americas, it meets every four years to set health policies for the Americas, receive new reports on the state of health in the Americas and to elect a new director of PAHO.

THEMES: The main agenda items for the Conference include AIDS in the Americas, health and aging, vaccines and immunization, public health response to chronic diseases, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, extension of social protection in health, regional strategies for reducing maternal mortality, women health and development, and others.

PAHO: PAHO, which also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, was established in 1902. PAHO Member States include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States, and Portugal and Spain are Observer States. Puerto Rico is an Associate Member. PAHO is celebrating 100 years of work with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their peoples.

For more information, please contact: Daniel Epstein, Office of Public Information, (202) 974-3459, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org.