Guatemala City, 12 June 2025 - Representatives from eight countries across the Americas gathered in Guatemala City from 10 to 12 June to enhance national capacities for preparedness and response to dengue and other arboviral disease outbreaks. The technical meeting was held by the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), in coordination with Guatemala’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, and included delegations from Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, as well as representatives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Executive Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (SE-COMISCA).
The main objective of the meeting was to strengthen national capacities to prevent and reduce the impact of dengue and other arboviral epidemics in the Region by promoting knowledge exchange, identifying shared challenges, and outlining concrete strategies to minimize the burden of these diseases on health systems and, most importantly, on population health.
During the meeting, PAHO/WHO’s Regional Program on Arboviral Diseases presented the first Guidelines for Preparedness and Response to Dengue and Other Arboviral Epidemics, developed by PAHO's Regional Arbovirus Program, in the context of health system recovery following the historic 2024 dengue outbreak and in preparation for emerging threats such as oropouche and yellow fever. Through a simulation exercise, participating countries identified ongoing challenges and critical gaps in areas such as surveillance, health service organization, risk communication, and vector control.
As part of the key messages shared during the meeting, Dr. Lilian Reneau, PAHO/WHO Representative in Guatemala, emphasized that the 2024 epidemic left important lessons about the difficulties countries face when responding to large-scale health emergencies. She noted that the meeting served as a strategic opportunity to strengthen collaboration, align capabilities, and consolidate shared strategies among participating nations.
PAHO/WHO reiterated its commitment to supporting Member States in strengthening their preparedness plans, in line with the Integrated Management Strategy for Arboviral Disease Prevention and Control in the Americas (IMS-arbovirus), and to fostering regional cooperation to address the ongoing threat that dengue and other arboviruses pose to public health systems.
