Leavitt to PAHO Member Countries: "We are Global Neighbors"

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Offers Thanks for Support after Hurricanes, at Opening of PAHO Directing Council Meeting

Washington, D.C., 26 September, 2005 (PAHO)—U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt today conveyed a message of gratitude from U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S. government for offers of support and assistance from the countries of the Western Hemisphere in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In his address to ministers of health gathered for the PAHO annual meeting, Leavitt welcomed them as "global neighbors" and offered thanks for "the many generous offers of assistance from abroad and from our neighbors in the Americas as we in the U.S. cope with the disasters of hurricanes Katrina and Rita along our gulf coast."

The hurricanes affected four Southern states, resulting in tens of billions of dollars in damages, more than 1,000 lives lost (according to current estimates), and more than 1 million people displaced.

"My department has long had a close connection with the Pan American Health Organization," Leavitt added, "and I look forward to continuing that association and to working with you on an individual level."

In her address to the delegates, PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses pointed out that the year-long cycle between PAHO Directing Council Meetings, from September 2004 to September 2005, "began and ended with natural disasters."

Roses conveyed sympathy and condolences to the U.S. government and to the American people for the tragedy caused by the hurricanes in the Southern United States. She repeated an earlier offer of PAHO assistance and technical support, noting the organization's long experience in response and preparedness for natural disasters.

Shortly after Katrina struck, Roses noted, PAHO activated the Emergency Operations Center at its regional headquarters in Washington, D.C., to monitor the effects of the hurricane, to coordinate assistance from member countries, and to provide information to representatives of those countries. Roses also acknowledged the significant contribution of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to the U.S. disaster relief effort.

A number of other health leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean took the floor to express their own sympathy and support for the U.S. government and people affected by the hurricanes in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.

Secretary Leavitt told delegates that the hurricanes were a reminder that "bad things can happen very fast. We must constantly reassess the state of our preparedness for natural disasters, as well as terrorist attacks and disease outbreaks."

He said that one of the greatest health threats currently facing the world is the possibility of pandemic influenza. He noted that the so-called Spanish flu of 1918-19 swept across the globe in a matter of months, killing 20-40 million people worldwide.

"When it comes to influenza, we live in a global community, neighbor to neighbor, because a threat against one nation is a threat against the entire world," he said. "Our task now is to make sure when the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century strikes, as it surely will, that the global community is ready. It may be H5N1 or something else."

H5N1 is the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that has caused the deaths of more than 100 million poultry in Asia and claimed more than 50 human lives. Public health authorities fear that if the virus acquires the ability to pass easily between humans, it could provoke a pandemic that would claim millions of lives and wreak havoc on the world economy.

Secretary Michael Leavitt heads the U.S. delegation to the 46th Meeting of the Directing Council, one of PAHO's governing bodies. The Directing Council consists of all the ministers of health of the Americas and meets once a year in Washington, D.C., to review health efforts in the hemisphere and to map out new actions and national and regional strategies for fighting disease and improving quality of life.

This year's meeting opened today and will run through Sept. 30.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is oldest public health organization in the world. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization and works with all the countries of the hemisphere to improve the health and quality of life of its inhabitants.