Ecuador - Plans for Centennial Celebrations

Centennial Open House

PAHO's country office organized a day-long open house event on December 2 that drew representatives of several government ministries, municipalities, the Red Cross and other public and private institutions, as well as schoolchildren and the general public. Highlights included the launching of a PAHO centennial stamp, a performance by the National Police Band and a press conference.

The country's two major daily newspapers each published a special supplement honoring PAHO centennial.

PAHO Awarded Order of Merit

PAHO was awarded the Order of Merit, a presidential medal given to people or institutions for their outstanding contributions to the national interest at the 8th Congress of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, held in Guayaquil, in June. The Minister of the Environment, Lourdes Luque de Jaramillo, presented the medal to Eduardo Ortiz, environmental health advisor in PAHO's country office in Quito, in recognition of PAHO's contributions to health in the Region and its work in Ecuador since 1951.

A memorable book

On May 8, 2002, the National Theater of Ecuador's Institute of Culture was the setting for the launch of Ecuador's centennial commemorative book "The condor, The Serpent and The Hummingbird: PAHO/WHO and Public Health in Ecuador During the 20th Century."

To begin the second century of the Organization's existence, a group of physicians accepted the challenge of producing a work on the history of the Organization and public health in Ecuador. This very difficult task that lasted more than a year and was coordinated by an ad-hoc commission included a total of 130 authors and co-authors from across the nation. What resulted is a history of medical practice in the Ecuadorian territory that travels from the dawn of knowledge to the beginning of the 21st century.

Each chapter honors the memory of the physicians who followed in the footsteps of Dr. Eugenio Espejo, a distinguished Ecuadorian physician.

Other Information:

The PAHO/WHO representation in Ecuador received a Plaque of Recognition from the National Council on Health in honor of PAHO's centennial and the technical assistance and collaborative efforts provided by the representation to improve the public health of all Ecuadorians.

The staff of the office in Ecuador has been involved in the discussions of the activities outlined in the Centennial Handbook and they are pleased to report that they will provide total support for all of the activities. In addition to the activities outlined in the handbook, they have proposed the following additional activities:

• Develop a publication on the history of PAHO and public health in Ecuador which they will sell
• Organize a meeting with all UN agencies and the press to announce the celebration plans.
• To seek support from CIAR (Interagency Committee on Support and Reform) for centennial activities.
• Production and publication of an informative brochure that would be distributed at all events that the office organizes.
• Launch a web page with space dedicated specifically to centennial events and activities.
• Set-up a post office box specifically to receive suggestions regarding centennial activities.
• Issue a commemorative stamp.
• Allude to centennial celebration in one way or another in all publications of the office.
• Organize sports championships at the level of the Casa Comun, in commemoration of the centennial.
• Record centennial information (to be updated regularly) on all office telephone on-hold/waiting messages.
• Plan journalism/communications contests in TV, radio, and print beginning in 2000.
• Include the centennial theme in all correspondence from the office.

Activities Update:

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