Date: 29 September 2026
Time: 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
Venue: Conference Room B, Pan American Health Organization Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Live stream: PAHO TV Spanish | English | French | Portuguese
For other cities, check the corresponding local time here.
To showcase innovative experiences and initiatives being implemented throughout the Americas in Primary Health Care that accelerate action and achieve priority health objectives. The experiences from Barbardos, Bolivia, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic will highlight how targeted interventions within Primary Health Care can address structural barriers in access to health, improve access to priority health services, and improve continuity and quality of care in priority populations and territories. In addition, the session will highlight how support from PAHO partners, and initiatives such as the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, can facilitate, leverage and accelerate action at the national level.
Moderator: James Fitzgerald, Health Systems and Services, Director, PAHO
12:30
Opening Video on Country Innovations
12:35
Opening Remarks, Jarbas Barbosa de Silva Jr., Director, PAHO/WHO
12:40
Panel: Innovative Country Experiences
- Barbados: Debt for Health Swap: Innovative health financing for Primary Health Care. Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator the Honorable Lisa Cummings
- Bolivia: National Planning Based on Primary Health Care. Minister for Health and Sports, Marcela Tatiana Flores Zambrana
- Guyana: Building a national nursing health workforce to expand PHC. Minister of Health, Anthony Frank
- Dominican Republic: Accelerating action through HEARTS and the Alliance for PHC. Minister for Health, Víctor Atallah
13:10
Panel: Partner Engagement in Primary Health Care
- Jaime Saavedra, Director of Human Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank: Primary Health Care and Health Compacts
- Javier Guzmán, Chief of Health, Nutrition, and Population, Inter-American Development Bank: Regional Investments to Accelerate Primary Health Care
- Kalahn Taylor-Clark, VP and Head of Social Impact & Sustainability, MSD, Maternal Health, Disease Elimination and Primary Health Care
13:40
Discussion
13:55
Closing Remarks, Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director PAHO/WHO