PAHO News – April 4, 2002

In this edition:
-WORLD HEALTH DAY GREETINGS
-PAHO Women, Health and Development Report
-Childhood Immunization: true investment in the health of nations
-LEARN ABOUT PAHO’S RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM
-Photo Gallery: Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance
-100 WAYS OF CELEBRATING PAHO’S CENTENNIAL
-6th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control
-Number of Cases of Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in the Americas
-WHO RESPONSE TO EARTHQUAKE IN AFGHANISTAN
-who JOB POSTING: HEALTH ECONOMIST FOR Brazzaville, Congo
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

WORLD HEALTH DAY GREETINGS

read World Health Day greetings from the Director General of the World
Health Organization, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, and the Director of the
Pan American Health Organization, Dr. George A.O. Alleyne.   This year,
the theme for World Health Day is physical activity and the slogan is
“Move for Health!” World Health Day will be celebrated on April 7, 2002.
http://www.paho.org/English/HPP/HPN/whd2002-messages.htm
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

PAHO Women, Health and Development Report

The 36th Sub-committee on Planning and Programming has released its
Women, Health and Development report and it is now available online.
This report presents the mandate, strategic areas, and accomplishments
of the Program on Women, Health, and Development (HDW) of the Pan
American Health Organization.  The report can be found in PDF format at:
http://www.paho.org/English/HDP/HDW/spp36english.pdf
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Childhood Immunization: true investment in the health of nations

Vaccination to control and eradicate communicable diseases has a long
history, dating back to 1796 when the first smallpox vaccine was
developed. Today, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) continues
to promote immunization for all children in the Americas.  Childhood
immunization may be the most cost-effective health intervention, but,
according to PAHO experts, the main obstacles to immunizing all children
in all the countries of the region are the lack of vaccination laws that
set up specific, independent budgets to buy vaccines and administrative
problems that have an impact on efficient distribution of financial and
human resources.  Although there have been notable successes, such as
global smallpox eradication, the eradication of polio from the Americas,
and a huge effort underway for global polio eradication, the scientific
community has many challenges ahead with regard to vaccination against
communicable diseases, of which AIDS is perhaps the most notable. For
the full article, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100feature13.htm
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

LEARN ABOUT PAHO’S RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM

Learn about PAHO’s Research Grants Program at the program’s webpage.
This page describes the activities of the Research Grants Program (RGP),
offers information on current calls for proposals, announces the results
of said initiatives, and places at the disposal of the user the guides
and templates used by the Program for its research projects.  The
Research Grants Program (RGP) is a special fund administered by the
Research Coordination Program of the Pan American Health Organization to
finance research projects in public health.  The objective of RGP is to
promote the generation of knowledge in diverse fields of health and to
collaborate in strengthening research capacity in the countries of Latin
America and the Caribbean. Visit the webpage at:
http://www.paho.org/English/HDP/HDR/hdr-rgp.htm
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Photo Gallery: Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance

A photo gallery that features images that show both the impact of
disasters and the need for humanitarian assistance is now available
online. This page features different links to the most disastrous photos
in the disaster department, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods,
volcanoes, chemical accidents and others.  Visit the gallery at:
http://www.paho.org/English/PED/photogallery-eng.htm.
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

100 WAYS OF CELEBRATING PAHO’S CENTENNIAL

From donating blood to volunteering at a local animal rescue shelter,
from getting a flu shot to quitting smoking, PAHO has 100 suggestions
for you to spend a healthier Centennial year. To read about them, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100ways.htm.
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

6th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control

The 6th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control will be held
in Montréal, from May 12-15, 2002.  The theme for this year’s conference
is “Injuries, Suicide and Violence: Building Knowledge, Policies and
Practices to Promote a Safer World”.  The conference objective is to
bring together stakeholders to facilitate exchange between sectors and
disciplines, to promote the sharing of knowledge and intervention
models, and to encourage partnerships between the public and private
sectors.  There are six focus areas: Road Safety; Occupational Safety;
Sport, Leisure, Home, Institutional and Product Safety; Suicide
Prevention; Violence Prevention; and Post-trauma Care & Rehabilitation.
Visit the web site at www.trauma2002.com for more details on the
conference and affiliated events.
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Number of Cases of Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in the Americas


A table showing the number of cases of Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic
Fever (DHF) is now available online.  This document provides tabular
data for 2002 on the number of cases of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic
fever in the Americas, by country, with additional regional and
subregional data. Visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/HCP/HCT/VBD/dengue-cases-2002.htm
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

WHO RESPONSE TO EARTHQUAKE IN AFGHANISTAN

Following two earthquakes in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan, WHO has
supplied sufficient medicine and supplies to treat 90,000 people for one
month. WHO has also sent experts to the earthquake zone to assess the
situation and determine the most urgent needs of the thousands of
injured and the tens of thousands who are without shelter. The WHO team
consists of an epidemiologist who will set up systems to prevent an
outbreak of disease, and an engineer specialized in water and
sanitation. Immediately after the earthquakes, an emergency task force
was established by the Afghan government and UN-system agencies. WHO
will be supporting Afghan health officials in coordinating emergency
health relief to the affected region. The Afghan Minister of Health, Dr.
Suhaila Seddiq, is currently in Nahrin City, near the epicentre of the
earthquakes, to lead international and national health relief
activities.  For further information, visit:
http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-22.html.
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

WHO JOB POSTING: HEALTH ECONOMIST FOR Brazzaville, Congo

The World Health Organization is seeking a Health Economist for the
Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo.  The successful
candidate will: develop guidelines for the incorporation of health in
poverty alleviation; provide technical assistance to countries on
poverty and ill-health; promote research on the relationship between
ill-health and poverty; promote networking on poverty and ill-health;
study the effects of economic policies and advise the countries
accordingly; and study the effects of globalization on public health in
African countries.  The vacancy notice number is AF/02/9-E.  The closing
date for application is May 5, 2002.  For application details or to
apply, visit: http://www.who.int/per/vacancies/paf02_009e.htm
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

To unsubscribe from CANCHID send: unsubscribe CANCHID to: [log in to unmask]  -  for help see http://listserv.yorku.ca