Editorial
In the Region of the Americas, as in the rest of the world, climate-related factors are increasingly influencing the health and well-being of the population, disrupting physical, biological, and ecological systems on a global scale. The interconnection between climate and health, particularly threats to human health, is an urgent call that cannot be ignored.
Tracking events of public health importance related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the Region of the Americas
The change in climatic phases can have far-reaching consequences for public health, such as an increase in infections transmitted by vectors, rodents, water or food, as well as food insecurity and malnutrition. For this, PAHO/WHO has developed a dashboard that tracks PAHO Epidemiological Alerts on events or signals that may be public health emergencies of international importance. This dashboard functions as a sentinel for potential health threats exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon.
PAHO’s Response to the Drought Emergency in the Brazilian Amazon
Brazil's Amazon region is suffering from the worst drought in 43 years, directly affecting more than 2 million people with disastrous consequences on access to energy, food and safe water. Additionally, the state of Amazonas is experiencing one of the most unsafe air quality levels in the world due to climate-driven forest fires.
Combining efforts to mitigate the impact of the dengue epidemic in Central America and Dominican Republic
Dengue is the most common arbovirosis globally and in the Region of the Americas, where it causes epidemics that recur every three to five years. PAHO and SE-COMISCA, in collaboration with other partners, have strengthened their efforts to address the challenges of the complex epidemiological context of dengue and arbovirosis in the sub-region.
The impact of climate change on emerging viral diseases.
Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the world remains at high risk for the emergence and re-emergence of pathogens prone to epidemics and pandemics. This threat comes from both imported cases and zoonotic spread from indigenous sources. The driving forces behind the spread and emergence of these pathogens are multifaceted and include climate change, unplanned urbanization, encroachment of human settlements into jungle areas, indiscriminate use of land and water, increased global travel, as well as socioeconomic factors, all of which play an important role in the dynamics of infectious diseases and how they spread.
In recent years, the Americas have been confronted with arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) in urban areas, along with others in jungle environments such as yellow fever, West Nile Virus, Mayaro and Equine Encephalitis Virus, spreading to new, previously unaffected areas, due to climate change (among other environmental and socioeconomic factors), causing mosquito vectors to adapt and expand geographically.
A quick view of the migration situation in the Central America Subregion - Human mobility events in Humanitarian Health Contexts
In recent years, Central American subregion migration dynamics have significantly changed, taking some countries to the limit of their management and response capabilities and generating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. PAHO, in close coordination with the Ministries of Health of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and local authorities in border areas, has taken different actions to mitigate the impact on migrant and potential recipient populations.
Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas is the Newsletter
of the Health Emergencies Department of the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.
The reported events, activities and programs do not imply endorsement by PAHO/WHO, nor do the statements made necessarily represent the policy of the Organization. The publication of this Newsletter has been made possible through the financial support of the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID/BHA).
Correspondence and requests for information should be directed to:
Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas Pan American Health Organization
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Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.A.
202-974-3527 • Fax: 202-775-4578
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