July 2025When three monkeys (a howler, a white-faced monkey, and a spider monkey) were found dead in a forested area of Colombia’s Putumayo department, what might have previously gone unnoticed became an early warning sign that triggered a swift, coordinated response to contain a yellow fever outbreak. This time, the difference was knowledge."…
Regional Stories
June 2025“Ensuring that diagnosis and treatment is available for all is key to reach and maintain zero malaria,” said Dr. Marthelise Eersel, who leads Suriname’s Malaria Program. This year, Suriname became the first country in the Amazon region to receive malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization (WHO).For Dr. Eersel, training…
Over the past two years, the Haitian government has intensified vaccination campaigns and epidemiological surveillance to combat vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) amid severe humanitarian and security challenges.— Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 2025 —
The country has renewed equipment at around 70 percent of its vaccination sites and acquired a cold storage chamber for José Martí International Airport, with support from PAHO and Canada.Havana, March 2025It’s Monday, and Nelisa Cecilia García is getting ready to take her 10-month-old daughter, María Elena, to the vaccination point in Habana…
Taking up to 17 pills a day and receiving constant injections can be exhausting, even when you know your life depends on it. Benito understands this well. At over 60 years old, being diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) was an emotional blow, but even more so when he was told that the treatment could last up to a year and a…
Lima, 6 of March 2025Across Peru, particularly in the Amazon, three projects are reshaping the lives of thousands. These initiatives are seeking to eliminate neglected diseases such as trachoma, improve the health of women and adolescents, and guarantee equitable access to vaccination. Each effort converges on a singular goal: to improve the well-…
Marie-Lore, a 26-year-old mother of three, looks down at her children in despair. Her home in Delmas was burned to the ground by armed groups, forcing her to flee with nothing but a small bag. Her son was saved from the flames by a neighbor, but now, in a temporary shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with hundreds of other displaced families, she…
December 2024Forty-nine hours. When she told her story, Cecilia Hernandez could have rounded it off to 50, but she didn't. It took precisely 49 hours to travel from San Miguel de Tucumán, her hometown, to Rio Gallegos in southern Argentina. The journey of more than 3,000 kilometers not only allowed Cecilia to get to know new places, it also marked…