Paramaribo, Suriname, 4 November 2026 – The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour of Suriname, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), is convening a multi-stakeholder workshop this week to advance the development of a national roadmap for eliminating communicable diseases and related conditions. The initiative contributes to PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, approved by Member States in 2019, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.
The two-day working session brings together national health authorities, technical experts, program managers and partners to review progress, identify remaining bottlenecks and define strategic actions to accelerate disease elimination. Participants are considering how to sustain achievements in areas where elimination has been achieved, make faster progress on diseases nearing elimination and address conditions requiring intensified efforts.
Suriname demonstrated regional leadership when it received WHO malaria-free certification in 2025. Building on lessons from this achievement, the country is developing a national roadmap to strengthen health systems, surveillance and governance, and to address the social and environmental determinants that affect health.
The workshop will generate key inputs for the roadmap, including elimination milestones, priority interventions and actions to accelerate progress. The process also supports the Government’s leadership in making disease elimination a national priority, improving health outcomes and ensuring that no one is left behind.
After the workshop, representatives from the Ministry, PAHO/WHO Suriname and the PAHO Disease Elimination Initiative team will review the outcomes and agree on next steps toward finalizing and launching the national roadmap.
