© PAHO
“PAHO’s strength lies not only in our headquarters, but in our presence across 27 countries. Our country offices are technical teams working side by side with ministries of health, understanding local contexts, and building trust earned over decades”
The year 2025 tested the resilience of health systems and international cooperation alike. Against a backdrop of reduced funding for international health, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) once again demonstrated what it has shown for over 120 years: its capacity to adapt, deliver, and advance health for all in the Americas.
The year also brought significant achievements alongside persistent challenges. Suriname became the first country in the Amazon basin to be certified malaria-free. Brazil eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV, adding to the Region’s leadership in disease elimination. Measles, however, reminded us that progress requires constant vigilance, sensitive surveillance, and homogeneous vaccination coverage across all communities.
Our flagship initiatives continued to mature and expand. The Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas welcomed new countries, with several already leveraging financing from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank to renovate health centers, buy new equipment, implement telehealth and telemedicine services, and train healthcare workers. The Better Care for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) initiative expanded to more countries, increasing the number of primary health care centers with trained staff to deliver integrated NCD services. Our Regional Revolving Funds procured more than USD 900 million in vaccines, health technologies, and supplies, delivered over 230 million vaccine doses, and expanded their portfolio to include high-cost medicines for cancer and rare diseases, resulting in significant savings for Member States.
A landmark achievement in 2025 was the agreement signed in January by the Government of Argentina, Sinergium Biotech, Pfizer, and PAHO for regional production of the PCV20 pneumococcal vaccine. This partnership strengthens regional manufacturing capacity while offering countries the most affordable price in the world for this innovative vaccine. It represents exactly the kind of public-private cooperation that builds self-sufficiency and security in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Health security remained at the core of our work. PAHO’s surveillance system verified 2.1 million alerts, detecting 157 public health events, from disease outbreaks to hurricanes. When crises arose, PAHO responded by ensuring the timely sharing of samples, strengthening laboratory and genomic surveillance, deploying mobile medical units, shipping large quantities of medicines and equipment, and providing technical guidance that saved lives.
Internally, through our PAHO Forward initiative, we achieved important advances in efficiency, transparency, and accountability. Changes in financial management and currency exchange processes generated over USD 7 million in savings, while AI-powered solutions generated additional efficiency gains. These efficiencies allowed us to prioritize what matters most: technical cooperation with our Member States.
PAHO’s strength lies not only in our headquarters in Washington, D.C., but in our presence across 27 countries. Our country offices are not diplomatic missions. They are technical teams working side by side with ministries of health, understanding local contexts, and building trust earned over decades. Whether deploying drones to deliver medicines in remote areas of Panama or supporting tuberculosis screening with artificial intelligence in prisons in Paraguay, our work touches communities throughout the Region.
As we look toward 2026, uncertainty in international financing remains our principal challenge. Yet I am confident in our capacity for resilience and adaptation. We have diversified our funding sources, expanded our partnerships, and demonstrated that we can deliver high-quality technical cooperation with greater efficiency.
PAHO remains rich in assets: our dedicated staff, our credibility as an evidence-based Organization, and our substantial presence in Member States. Together with our partners and the governments we serve, we will continue advancing the health and well-being of all people in the Americas.
Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr.
Director
Pan American Health Organization
