Washington D.C. September 12, 2025. During the Dialogue with Staff, PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa presented the plan for the PAHO Forward 3.0 initiative, which marks a new stage in efforts to modernize and optimize the Organization's internal management systems.
The PAHO Forward initiative, which began in April 2023, aims to strengthen the Organization's capacity to provide timely, effective, and results-based technical cooperation. To achieve this, the initiative relies on the use of new technologies, data analysis, and the incorporation of innovative practices that enable a more effective response to the public health challenges faced by Member States.
The design of the new 3.0 plan was developed in a participatory process with personnel, who submitted 72 proposals, of which 33 were selected by a group responsible for validating them for subsequent implementation.
The selection was made based on criteria of modernization, innovation, and simplification, with a focus on the effectiveness of technical cooperation, feasibility of implementation, clarity of the proposed action, and availability of human resources.
“This participatory process shows us how important it is to listen to personnel,” said Dr. Barbosa during his presentation. “It is an example of how so many people have good ideas and can offer solutions that improve the processes that make technical cooperation more efficient,” he added.
The actions planned under PAHO Forward 3.0 range from leveraging digital tools, such as artificial intelligence technologies, to optimize operations, to launching the Shared Services Center and the new planning, budgeting, and evaluation portal to provide comprehensive, up-to-date information to Member States and partners, among others.
This plan, which is expected to be completed in June 2026, reaffirms PAHO's commitment to providing countries and personnel with tools that strengthen technical cooperation and institutional management.
The first two action plans contained 151 expected results, 86.1% of which were achieved thanks to the dedication of the Organization's personnel.
