Guatemala City, July 25, 2025 (PAHO) - In order to strengthen national capacities to generate estimates of the burden of disease and economic burden of influenza, the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) conducted a technical cooperation mission to Guatemala from July 21-25, 2025.
Within the framework of this mission, the PAHO/WHO team worked jointly with the technical teams of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS), developing technical meetings, a theoretical-practical workshop and strategic planning sessions.
During the mission, an intensive training and capacity building workshop on estimating the economic burden of respiratory diseases was held with the participation of national technical teams. This allowed participants to apply advanced methodologies to estimate the health costs associated with influenza in Guatemala.
In the various working sessions, preliminary results of national studies on the medical and economic burden of influenza were presented and Central American experiences in estimating these impacts were shared. The sources of information and mechanisms of the Guatemalan health system for calculating health costs were also discussed, with a view to improving decision-making on cost-effective public policies.
The technical meetings also reinforced the commitment to strengthen technical cooperation between PAHO and MSPAS to promote operational research based on epidemiological surveillance data, so that the evidence generated supports investment in vaccination, epidemiological surveillance and pandemic preparedness. PAHO/WHO reiterates its commitment to continue accompanying the country technically in the generation of evidence to guide sustainable and effective public policies, which contribute to protect the health of the population and strengthen the resilience of the national health system.
