PAHO annual report 2024

Main achievements of 2024

In the Region, 2024 was marked by the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a historic outbreak of dengue, and outbreaks of avian flu and Oropouche virus disease.

Despite the complex environment, both PAHO and the Americas were able to achieve significant milestones.

Improvements in the Region’s health

Throughout the year, vaccination coverage surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

In May, Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and Grenadines were declared free of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

In September, Brazil eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

In October, PAHO helped Latin American and Caribbean countries obtain USD 84 million from the multilateral financing mechanism, the Pandemic Fund, to enhance pandemic preparedness in the Region.

In November, the Region of the Americas was declared measles-free, a goal that had been achieved in 2016 but lost in 2018, when Brazil reported an outbreak.

With PAHO support, Guatemala has increased coverage in primary health care by 15%, and Chile has increased its health workforce in primary health care by 16 000.

Seventeen countries are increasing health security and public health capacities utilizing the PAHO’s Essential Public Health Functions Initiative.

Sixty new cities and communities joined the WHO’s Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities initiative in Latin American and the Caribbean, including two new countries – Ecuador and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

PAHO’s new initiatives

In November, PAHO launched a Task Force to accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality focused on 12 countries that account for 90% of maternal deaths in the Region.

In 2024, the initiative Better Care for NCDs: Accelerating Actions in Primary Health Care progressed following its launch in 2023. During this period, specific activities were carried out in several countries to strengthen the integration of noncommunicable disease services into primary health care. Additionally, the HEARTS initiative expanded its reach, now present in 33 countries, enhancing the management of hypertension and cardiovascular risk.

patient being treated at a diabetes control center

In 2024, the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas started its operations, as a collaborative initiative with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. By the end of the year, 10 countries from the Region had had initiated coordinated support.

Alliance for Primary Health Care (A4PHC)

In December, PAHO launched its PAHO Forward Plan of Action 2.0 to modernize and streamline its operations, with a special focus on enhancing efficiency, transparency, and accountability within the Organization.

In 2024, 20 countries took part in initiatives to advance the digital transformation of the health sector, supported by over USD 900 million in loans provided by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Throughout the year, PAHO provided a platform to its Member States to facilitate regional consensus in the international negotiations for the pandemic prevention, preparedness and response accord.

Under the aegis of the Alliance for Primary Health Care, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, PAHO hosted the Caribbean Health Financing Forum with participation from eight countries (The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines).

Approved in 2024, the Strategy on Epidemic Intelligence for Strengthening Early Warning of Health Emergencies 2024–2029 is the first globally on the subject, developed through a country-led process to strengthen countries' capacities for early detection, warning, and response to public health threats.