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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
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World AIDS Day Campaign 1999: Listen, Learn, Live
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The 1999 World AIDS Campaign, centered on World Aids Day December 1,
is called Listen, Learn, Live and focuses on communication with
children and young people as a way to halt the epidemic.
The Listen, Learn, Live campaign, according to Pan American Health
Organization Director Dr. George Alleyne, "highlights the reality
that we still need AIDS campaigns for our youth. Despite our
efforts, our children and young people continue to be infected and
at risk."
Dr. Alleyne said, "We know that more than half of all people who
became infected with HIV acquire the virus before they reach the age
of 25. Last year alone, over three million children and young people
globally were infected with HIV. In the Region of the Americas this
figure reached 73. These numbers clearly demonstrate the importance
of developing prevention efforts that better meet the needs of our
young people."
In the Americas there are an estimated 1.7 million persons living
with HIV/AIDS, and PAHO is committed to working with the countries
to reduce the toll of the disease through education, information,
risk reduction, partnership building, and other strategies.
During the past year a further 5.8 million people were infected with
HIV - approximately 11 men, women and children every minute - and
the total number of people living with the virus rose by one-tenth,
to 33.4 million worldwide. Half of all new infections are now
occurring among young people aged 15 to 24, according to a new
report issued by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
There are fewer deaths in North America and Western Europe, but no
progress in prevention; HIV infection rates have remained unchanged
for a decade. In the wealthier countries the availability of new
more potent anti-HIV drug combinations has helped people with HIV
live longer, healthier lives. In the United States, for example, the
number of people dying from AIDS dropped by two-thirds between 1995
and 1997, when antiretroviral combination drugs came into wide use.
In Latin America, while infections are concentrated in men who have
sex with men and drug injectors, transmission through sex between
men and women is on the rise. In the Caribbean, the main route of
HIV/AIDS transmission remains through heterosexual intercourse.
Although the Sub-Saharan African countries are the hardest hit, with
34 million infections and almost 12 million deaths, AIDS is still a
global problem.
"Let us mark this World AIDS Day with a commitment to do more. Each
and every one of us can make a difference. I invite you to join us
in the Region- wide effort, for the future health of the children
and youth of the Americas," Dr. Alleyne said.
Photos available, please contact us by email. For further
information contact: Daniel Epstein, tel (202) 974-3459 , fax (202)
974-3143, Office of Public Information, [log in to unmask] /
http://www.paho.org
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Launch Of Healthy Children Goal 2002 Initiative Set
December 1
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A new initiative to prevent the deaths of 100,000 children in the
Americas by the year 2002 will be launched at a meeting at the Pan
American Health Organization December 1.
The Healthy Children Initiative will be launched Wednesday, December
1 at 3:00pm at PAHO Headquarters to help reduce preventable deaths
among children, a group of national and international agencies have
given priority to implementing IMCI in the Region. Participants at
this launching will include First Ladies, Ministers of Health,
representatives from PAHO, the World Bank, U.S. Agency for
International Development, UNICEF, the Inter-American Development
Bank, and private volunteer organizations.
Every year more than 200,000 children under 5 years of age die in
the Region of the Americas from illnesses that can be easily
prevented or treated. Acute respiratory infections, diarrheal
diseases, and malnutrition are the three leading causes of illness
and death in this age group. These diseases and others, such as
those caused by intestinal parasites, vaccine preventable diseases
and malaria, are the primary reasons for medical consultation and
hospitalization. The "Healthy Children: Goal 2002" initiative will
promote the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)
strategy, with the aim of preventing 100,000 deaths in children
under 5 years of age in the Americas by the year 2002. IMCI is an
effective, low-cost strategy for improving the quality of child
health and health care in health facilities, households and
communities. It relies on simple public health interventions,
preventive measures taken at home, early diagnosis, effective
treatment, and strengthening health systems to reduce the risk and
consequences of childhood illness.
The Pan American Health Organization, founded in 1902, works with
all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise
the living standards of their peoples. It serves as the Regional
Office of the World Health Organization, and has offices in 27
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as nine
scientific and technical centers apart from its headquarters in
Washington, D.C.
For more information please call Daniel Epstein Tel (202) 974-3459,
Fax (202) 974-3143, Office of Public Information, e-mail:
[log in to unmask] 525 Twenty-Third Street, N.W. Washington, DC
20037, USA - http:\\www.paho.org
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Disaster Reports on Hurricanes Georges and Mitch
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One year since Hurricanes Georges and Mitch wreaked havoc in Central
America and the Caribbean, PAHO has published an important
publication reviewing the events and reflecting on lessons learned
in the health sector.
By including eight reports produced in the affected countries
themselves, this document records the most valuable experiences and
serves as a journal of these two, almost-consecutive disasters, that
affected several countries in less than five weeks. Hurricane
Georges is analyzed in the reports prepared by the English-speaking
Caribbean countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Honduras,
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize document their
experiences during Hurricane Mitch in a separate section. Two
important annexes conclude the volume. The book is only available
in Spanish.
The book can be accessed (and downloaded) from PAHO's Emergency
Preparedness Program's website:
http://www.paho.org/english/ped/pedhome.htm , (click on the New
Publications button).
There are a limited number of printed copies that may be requested
from [log in to unmask]
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This document is available, with full formatting and
accents, at http://www.csih.org/paho_ndx.html
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