—from Epidemiological Bulletin, Vol. 24 No. 1, March 2003—
New Challenges and Priorities for Epidemiology in the Americas
This year the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) begins
its second century of existence. As was already mentioned in the first issue
of 2002 of this Bulletin, PAHO was created in response to the need for
international collaboration in controlling the propagation of communicable diseases.
Almost 20 years after its creation, the political and technical bases were laid
to put in practice its surveillance and control functions through the development
of the Sanitary Code. PAHO’s history to date has been marked by the appearance
of pandemics such as the 1918 flu, cholera in 1991, and the appearance of AIDS
in 1981. The Region of the Americas is now being affected by another serious
pandemic, that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which initiated
its propagation in Asia. In today’s interconnected world, the disease has
spread at a rapid pace around the Globe, but its detection and investigation
have also been timelier than previous pandemic-causing diseases. In the midst
of this situation, we are reminded once more of the importance of the role of
multilateral international health cooperation agencies (such as PAHO and WHO),
of the need for sharing information on affected populations, for concerted action
by the countries for the control of disease transmission, and for the establishment
of cooperation networks in order to increase the efficiency of public health
activities. Since its creation in 1980, the Epidemiological Bulletin
has provided up-to-date information on the situation and epidemiological surveillance
of priority diseases, as well as on the measures, strategies, and policies to
prevent and control them. This issue will disseminate some aspects of the process
of information and consultation on the new public health threat of SARS in the
Region. (click here to read the article on SARS).
PAHO also begins this year with a new administration, under the leadership of
Dr. Mirta Roses. Although there have been recognized health gains in the countries
and territories of the Americas since the implementation of Primary Health Care
more than two decades ago, some gaps remain to be filled. Some diseases have
been controlled or eradicated, yet new health problems have arisen, such as
those related to new lifestyles, like obesity, or those characteristic of older
population groups and associated with the aging of the Region’s population.
PAHO has established among its priorities and strategies to emphasize its work
with the countries that find themselves at greater health disadvantages compared
to the rest of the Region. Targeting these countries should increase coordination
and make more effective the actions of support and development, towards the
fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the countries in
the United Nations Assembly, and of technical cooperation in public health.
With this idea in mind, the Bulletin publishes in this issue a summary
of the health situation analysis and trends in Bolivia,
Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, and Nicaragua,
based on the publication Health in the Americas, 2002 Edition, one of
PAHO’s flagship products. It is expected that this information will be
of interest to different groups and agencies. Syntheses of information on these
and other countries will be included periodically in future issues of the Bulletin.
Return to Index
Epidemiological Bulletin, Vol. 24 No. 1, March
2003