PAHO News -- September 26, 2002

PAHO News is also available on the Web!
http://www.csih.org/synergy/synergy.html

In this issue:
-DR. MIRTA ROSES ELECTED NEW DIRECTOR OF PAN AMERICAN HEALTH
ORGANIZATION
-US CALLS FOR RENEWED EFFORTS AT AMERICAS HEALTH SUMMIT TO COMBAT AIDS
-PAHO RELEASES NEW REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE IN THE AMERICAS
-PAHO REPORT: LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS RISEN IN THE AMERICAS
-PAHO: SOCIAL INEQUALITIES MAJOR OBSTACLE TO HEALTH
-HEALTH AT THE BORDER OF THE US AND MEXICO
-PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGIST FOR PORT-OF-SPAIN,
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
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DR. MIRTA ROSES ELECTED NEW DIRECTOR OF PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Dr. Mirta Roses, elected this week as Director of the Pan American
Health Organization, will be the first woman and first Argentine to lead
the world’s oldest international health organization. Elected in a
secret ballot by ministers of health from all countries in the Americas,
Dr. Roses will serve a five-year term as the Organization’s ninth
director, taking office February 1, 2003. She replaces Dr. George
Alleyne of Barbados, who was elected Director in 1995. Dr. Roses, who
spoke in all four official languages of the Pan American Health
Organization, said her vision for the organization has three components:
unity and solidarity of all people in the continent on search of
concrete goals; leadership and responsibility of governments to bring
together all forces of society; and a new emphasis on equity. For more
information, visit: http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/pr020925.htm.
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US CALLS FOR RENEWED EFFORTS AT AMERICAS HEALTH SUMMIT TO COMBAT AIDS

At the Pan-American Sanitary Conference, U.S. Secretary of Health and
Human Services Tommy F. Thompson called for renewed efforts to control
AIDS in the Caribbean. Thompson said: "I believe the Pan American Health
Organization should have an annual meeting in the Caribbean dealing with
AIDS." Thompson recalled when President Teddy Roosevelt opened a PAHO
meeting 100 years ago in the era of yellow fever and malaria. "Now we
are struggling with new diseases, new threats, new challenges," he said.
PAHO’s Member States are attending the Pan American Sanitary Conference
from September 23 to 27.  The Conference acts as a policy-setting
governing body composed of Ministers of Health from all its member
countries. Ministers received new reports on the state of health in the
Americas and will discuss a series of topics, including: health and
aging, AIDS, vaccines and immunization, chronic diseases, and childhood
illnesses. They will also elect a new director of PAHO.  For more
information, visit: http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/pr020923f.htm.
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PAHO RELEASES NEW REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE IN THE AMERICAS

A new PAHO report on the practice of public health in Latin America and
the Caribbean focuses on the role of national health authorities in
carrying out public health functions. "Public Health in the Americas"
identifies 11 "essential public health functions" that should be the
responsibility of the state and provides a methodology for assessing
national health authorities’ discharge of these functions. The book is
the product of a larger initiative by PAHO and the countries of the
Region to develop consensus-based standards for public health practice
and indicators for use in evaluating the performance of responsible
agencies. A central goal is to improve the ability of national health
authorities to fulfill their steering role in health.
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/pr020923e.htm.
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PAHO REPORT: LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS RISEN IN THE AMERICAS

Life expectancy at birth rose by six years throughout the Americas
between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, mostly because a reduced
risk of dying from communicable and cardiovascular diseases, according
to a new report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). PAHO
says mass immunizations throughout the region deserve much of the credit
for fighting off communicable disease. Thanks to a widely used vaccine,
measles is close to being eradicated in the Americas.
Countries in the region have also made progress against diseases for
which there are no vaccines. For the full press release, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/pr020923c.htm.
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PAHO: SOCIAL INEQUALITIES MAJOR OBSTACLE TO HEALTH

Social inequalities present a major obstacle to health in the Americas,
and the wider the gap between the rich and poor in a given country, the
worse the health situation, according to a new report by the Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO). In the report, Health in the
Americas, PAHO says: "The healthier societies in the Americas are not
necessarily those that are wealthier," but those "which are the most
equitable in the distribution of their income, regardless of its
amount." Health in the Americas, will be published every four years,
presenting a regional analysis of the health situation and trends as
well as individual analyses for each of the countries and territories in
the Americas. For more information on the report, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/pr020923b.htm.
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HEALTH AT THE BORDER OF THE US AND MEXICO

The border between Mexico and the United States has become a cause for
concern because Hepatitis A and tuberculosis are much more prevalent
along the border than in other regions within the same countries.  The
PAHO office in El Paso, Texas, concentrates on coordinating cooperation
efforts among the two countries. Its role is to facilitate and to
promote the creation of public and private alliances between the two
nations. It also encourages dialogue to solve environmental and health
problems on the border. The Field Office acts as a catalyst for
activities such as immunization campaigns, maternal/child health
programs, rabies control programs, and training seminars and workshops
similar to those carried out throughout the hemisphere.  For the full
feature article, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100feature37.htm.
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PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGIST FOR PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD
AND TOBAGO

PAHO is seeking a Medical Microbiologist for its field station in
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Candidates should have the following
experience: seven years of professional experience in medical
microbiology with particular emphasis on medical bacteriology at a
national level; experience in public health and/or clinical infectious
diseases would be an asset; two years of participation in technical
cooperation programs and activities related to disease surveillance
and/or laboratory techniques and practices at an international level.
The application deadline is October 30, 2002.  For further details on
the position, visit:
http://pahoapl.paho.org/pahoexternalenglish/ASEPage_JobDetail.ASP.
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