PAHO News – October 16, 2003

In this issue:
- PAHO DIRECTOR PARTICIPATES IN FIRST LADIES SUMMIT
- THE WORLD BANK AND THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION INAUGURATE
HEALTH PARTNERSHIP FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND LEARNING IN THE AMERICAS
- WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY OBSERVED OCTOBER 10, 2003
- REPORT: FAT AMERICANS GETTING EVEN FATTER - EXTREME OBESITY IS
BALLOONING IN U.S. ADULTS
- PROFESSIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT PAHO
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PAHO DIRECTOR PARTICIPATES IN FIRST LADIES SUMMIT
PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses participated in the First Ladies Summit in
the Dominican Republic on October 15, 2003, as part of an official visit
to that country. The conference, the 12th in a series, is covering
issues related to youth and poverty as its principal themes this year.
Roses is attending the main sessions of the summit and gave a
presentation on social protection in health, as well as participating in
a panel discussion. Mrs. Rosa Gómez de Mejía, First Lady of the
Dominican Republic, said, "The Conference is a mechanism of political
consensus-building that emerged as an initiative of the First Ladies of
Central America, in support of the efforts of the presidents during the
crisis of the sub-region in the 1980s." Since then, it has become an
annual event aimed at sharing information about the common social
problems of the region and exchanging ideas and experiences on social
policies, programs and projects.  The first lady added that youth must
be taken into account when setting social policies, specifically in
areas of education for work and life, and education for healthy lives
free of violence.  For more information, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/pr031014.htm
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THE WORLD BANK AND THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION INAUGURATE
HEALTH PARTNERSHIP FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND LEARNING IN THE AMERICAS
The World Bank and the Pan American Health Organization have inaugurated
the "Health Partnership for Knowledge Sharing and Learning in the
Americas", an initiative that uses videoconferencing and internet
technologies to share expertise in order to improve health services in
the Americas. It supports the efforts of all countries in the region to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including reducing
child and maternal mortality by two-thirds and three-quarters
respectively, and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.  As David de
Ferranti, vice-president for the World Bank's Latin America and
Caribbean Region stated, "Through our shared efforts on the same agenda,
we can help countries of the Americas meet their own health objectives
and the MDGs by promoting communication between public health leaders
and professionals, and developing appropriate skills and competencies."

The Partnership will use a combination of learning methodologies and
complementing technologies that will allow programs to reach all
stakeholders and health professionals. Also, the diversity and high
calibre of participants in the Partnership will enable it to respond a
wide range of capacity-building needs in the health sector. Finally, The
Health Partnership for Knowledge Sharing and Learning in the Americas
will offer programs and activities to all in the health sector,
including practitioners, policy decision-makers at local and national
levels, elected officials and hospital personnel. Program content is
designed to help health policy makers, practitioners, and
decision-makers conduct discussions on policy and national strategies,
develop implementation plans, and apply and implement programs on a full
range of health-related issues. PAHO states that organizations that play
a role in building local health capacity in the Americas are welcome to
become involved in the Partnership as they work collectively towards
helping the region meet its health-related MDGs.  For the entire story,
visit: http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/pr031015.htm
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WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY OBSERVED OCT. 10
World Mental Health Day 2003 was observed on October 10, 2003, in a
drive to focus worldwide attention on the identification, treatment, and
prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders in children and
adolescents.  Around 20 percent of children and adolescents worldwide
suffer from an impairing mental illness, according to estimates from the
World Federation for Mental Health.  In Latin America, six recent
community-based studies concluded that between 15 percent and 23 percent
of children and adolescents suffered mental health problems. Of these,
three to four percent had severe mental disorders requiring special
treatment, according to Dr. Claudio T. Miranda, regional advisor in
mental health at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). "The theme
for World Mental Health Day 2003, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of
Children and Adolescents, built on last year's campaign, which focused
worldwide attention on the effects of trauma and violence on the mental
and emotional well-being of young people," said former First Lady
Rosalynn Carter, honorary chair of World Mental Health Day. Available
figures show that most children in need of mental health care in the
Americas do not receive the required treatment, Miranda noted. "From a
financial perspective, the evidence is clear that early treatment of
children and adolescents can reduce the costs of care in later years as
well as the costs to society of anti-social behaviors that may result
from the failure of treatment of early childhood disorders," he said.
For more information, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/pr031010.htm
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REPORT: FAT AMERICANS GETTING EVEN FATTER - EXTREME OBESITY IS
BALLOONING IN U.S. ADULTS
The number of extremely obese American adults - those who are at least
100 pounds overweight - has quadrupled since the 1980s to about four
million. That works out to about one in every 50 adults. Extreme obesity
once was thought to be a rare, distinct condition whose prevalence
remained relatively steady over time. The new study contradicts that
thinking and suggests that it is at least partly due to the same kinds
of behavior - overeating and under-activity - that have contributed to
the epidemic number of Americans with less severe weight problems.
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PROFESSIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT PAHO
Finance Officer - Washington, D.C. Closes 10/15/03
Epidemiologist - El Paso, Texas. Closes 10/16/03
Administrative Officer - Port-of-Spain, T&T. Closes 10/21/03
Unit Chief, Communicable Diseases (CD) - Washington, D.C. Closes
10/24/03
Unit Chief, Health Policies and Systems (HP) - Washington, D.C. Closes
11/7/03
Regional Advisor on Health Migrating Population - Bogota, Colombia.
Closes 11/12/03
Unit Chief, Health Services Organization (OS) - Washington, D.C. Closes
11/13/03
Regional Advisor on Sustainable Development and Health - Port-of-Spain,
T&T. Closes 11/19/03
Advisor on Family Health - Brasilia, Brazil. Closes 11/25/03
Associate Prof. Officer (APO) in Essential Drugs and Vaccines -
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Closes 10/17/03
Consultants, Interns and others - Any duty station
For more information, or to apply online, visit:
http://pahoapl.paho.org/pahoexternalenglish/ASEPage_JobList.asp?TS=10150
3111141AM&
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