--------------------------------------------------------
PAHO NEWS: Press Releases, Job Vacancies, and Other
Information from the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) via the Canadian Society for International Health
(CSIH) http://www.csih.org; Technical Representative in
Canada for PAHO
--------------------------------------------------------
World Health Day Celebrations set for April 7
--------------------------------------------------------
World Health Day 2000, focusing on the critical issue of
safe blood, will be observed April 7 in communities
around the world. This year's theme is Safe Blood
Starts With Me, Safe Blood Saves Lives.
World Health Day is observed every April 7 in the 191
member countries of the United Nations. It was
established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to
commemorate its founding and to provide a forum for
dialogue about health worldwide. A special theme is
selected each year to focus on a critical health issue
of global importance.
This year's theme is especially important in the
Americas because blood for transfusion is obtained from
voluntary, unpaid donors in only a small proportion of
countries and territories in the Americas, according to
Dr. Jose R. Cruz, the Pan American Health Organization's
regional advisor on laboratory and blood services.
"We want to raise the awareness in the Americas about
the importance of blood safety and encourage every
country to establish national blood programs and pass
blood safety legislation," Dr. Cruz said.
One key to safe blood supplies is voluntary donations
instead of paid donors or those who give blood for
family members or friends, he said. Screening of all
donated blood for infection with hepatitis B and C,
syphilis, Trypanosoma cruzi which causes Chagas'
disease, and human immunodeficiency virus is a very
important step which must be taken by all blood banks,
Dr. Cruz noted.
"Working together, we can improve the safety of blood
banking services throughout the Western Hemisphere, and
thus achieve the goals adopted by the ministers of
health in this region of screening all blood and having
all blood banks participate in quality control
programs," he added.
One focus of the initiative in the Americas is to
encourage more blood donations and raise the awareness
of communities everywhere about the importance of having
a safe and adequate blood supply at all times.
"We know that the risk of transfusion-transmitted
infections is higher when blood products come from paid
or replacement donors, rather than volunteer and repeat
donors, so we must meet the challenge of promoting
voluntary blood donation," said Dr. George A.O. Alleyne,
Director of the Pan American Health Organization. He
said donating blood is "a desirable, altruistic act,"
and health workers should discourage replacement
donation and retain and educate volunteer donors.
"If everyone donates blood at least twice a year, and we
have adequate screening and testing of blood, we can
have safe blood without any infectious agents, because
all citizens of the Americas must be assured of
receiving safe blood when they need it," Dr. Alleyne
said.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) which serves
as the regional office of WHO for the Americas, works to
improve health and raise living standards in all the
countries of the Americas.
For more information, photographs, print PSA, footage
and/or B-roll please call the Office of Public
Information: Daniel Epstein, Tel (202) 974-3459, Fax
(202) 974-3143, [log in to unmask], 525 Twenty-Third
Street, NW Washington, DC 20037, USA -
http://www.paho.org
--------------------------------------------------------
First Annual Conference of the International Society for
Equity in Health
--------------------------------------------------------
The Interim Organizing Secretariat of the International
Society for Equity in Health are pleased to invite you
to participate in this important conference to be held
in La Havana, Cuba from June 29-30, 2000 and to be part
of the creation of this new scientific society.
The International Society for Equity in Health (ISEqH)
wishes to encourage advances in knowledge about the
importance of equity in the improvement of the health of
all people and to promote the application of knowledge
to activities directed toward this goal.
Conference themes include: pathways; evaluation of
interventions; methodology; policy and collaborative
efforts; and populations at risk (children and
adolescents, women, pregnancy, minorities). Reduced
early registration rates are available until April 15,
2000.
For more information, please visit http://www.iseqh.org
or contact the International Society for Equity in
Health, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Centro INUS -
Calle 60 y 120, 1900 La Plata, Argentina Tel/Fax: (54-
221)423-5755 [log in to unmask]
--------------------------------------------------------
This document is available, with full formatting and
accents, at http://www.csih.org/paho_ndx.html
|
