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—from Epidemiological Bulletin , Vol. 25 No. 1, march 2004— EditorialThis year marks the 25th anniversary of the Epidemiological Bulletin (EB)
of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). During the last quarter-century,
the EB has been published continuously, reporting on diverse issues related
to the epidemiological and public health situation and activities of the Region
of the Americas. The first issue was published in 1980 to disseminate information
on the practice of epidemiology in response to the changing needs of health
services in the Americas. This function has evolved further during the past
decade as a result of health sector reforms and new demands arising from the
steering role of the state, as exercised through the Essential Public Health
Functions. During the first years of its publication, the EB included articles
on outbreaks and epidemics in the region, including cholera, AIDS, dengue,
and other primarily communicable diseases. Today, these have renewed importance
with the appearance of emerging and re-emerging diseases, including SARS, West
Nile virus, and hantavirus, about which the EB has reported. Over time, other
topics have been included, such as noncommunicable diseases, mortality, accidents
and environmental health. In 1999, the EB was restructured to respond better to the changing information needs of the PAHO secretariat and member countries. Since then, the EB has published articles in the following categories (percentages indicate articles published in each category): situation and analysis of health problems (38%), analytical methodologies and information presentation (10%), public health norms and standards (37%), and epidemiological news (15%). Case definitions are included in “norms and standards” and represent 25% of all queries of EB Web pages. In the future, the EB will follow similar publication guidelines but will also emphasize tools for improving data quality, validity and consistency. Given the needs of the Region’s health information systems (HIS), another goal of the EB will be to present strategies and efforts related to the Health Metrics network, which is aimed at strengthening HIS in the countries and ensuring that generated information follows basic quality standards in terms of validity, reliability, comparability, transparency and ownership. In addition, the EB will seek to increase the use of this information by decision-makers to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation, all of which will improve distribution of resources and direct health interventions. The overarching objective is to contribute to the achievement of better health through more equitable access to information and services. Another challenge for the EB will be monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The international community has committed itself to the MDGs as a broader vision of development that vigorously promotes the importance of human development in maintaining social and economic progress in all countries, and which recognizes the need to create a world alliance for development. The MDGs provide a framework for measuring progress in development through eight goals, 18 objectives and 48 indicators, which are being evaluated periodically through the year 2015. Of all the indicators, a third are related to the health sector, while others are closely related to health, and in many cases, are important determinants of health. The EB will continue to promote the use of core health indicators as tools
for characterizing the health situation and planning public health actions,
paying special attention to sub-national levels (country and state) as the
most useful levels for health analyses. Likewise, the EB will support technical
cooperation through publication of health information on PAHO priority countries.
To complement this process, the EB will continue to promote the standardization
of methodologies for collection, analysis and interpretation of health information. |
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