PAHO News -- January 9, 2003

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

In this issue:
-NEW DIRECTOR TAKES OVER AT PAHO - GOODBYE TO DR. ALLEYNE
-IMPROVED 2002 COMPENDIUM OF CANADIAN RESOURCES IN INTERNATIONAL HEALTH
NOW AVAILABLE!
-EXTENDING HEALTH COVERAGE TO MILLIONS
-NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: AN ECONOMIC AND HEALTH BURDEN
-VIRUSES AND BACTERIA: AN INVISIBLE ARMY, DIFFICULT TO DEFEAT
-PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: HEALTH SYSTEMS AND SERVICES ADVISOR FOR
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA
-PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: ADVISOR ON HEALTH SERVICES ORGANIZATION AND
DEVELOPMENT FOR LIMA, PERU
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NEW DIRECTOR TAKES OVER AT PAHO - GOODBYE TO DR. ALLEYNE

Dr. Mirta Roses, the Pan American Health Organization’s assistant
director since 1995, will assume the post of director on February 1,
2003. She is the first woman and first Argentinian to lead PAHO. Elected
in a secret ballot by health ministers from all countries in the
Americas, Dr. Roses will serve a five-year term as the Organization’s
ninth director. She succeeds Dr. George Alleyne who has served as
director for the past eight years. Sir George Alleyne was honored on his
retirement as PAHO’s director both by Health Canada and by CSIH (PAHO’s
technical representative in Canada) during a visit to Ottawa in
November. CSIH executive director Janet Hatcher Roberts told him at a
celebratory lunch: “It has been said that great men are the guideposts
and landmarks on the state. You have been just that and left your
significant mark on the state of health in the Americas and for that we
thank you.” For the full article, visit:
http://www.csih.org/paho/paho.html.
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IMPROVED 2002 COMPENDIUM OF CANADIAN RESOURCES IN INTERNATIONAL HEALTH
NOW AVAILABLE!

The 'improved' 2002 Compendium of Canadian Resources in International
Health offers information on the 30 PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centres in
Canada as well as useful listings with website addresses of partners in
international health in Canada and overseas and international health
programs at Canadian universities. The 2002 Compendium of Canadian
Resources in International Health is a work in progress and is
continuously updated. The Compendium is available on the CSIH website
at: http://www.csih.org/paho/ccCanada.html.
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EXTENDING HEALTH COVERAGE TO MILLIONS

An estimated 100 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are
not covered by existing health systems, and some 240 million are not
protected by social security or private health insurance programs. Since
1999, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the International
Labor Organization have been collaborating on a regional initiative to
support efforts of Member States to reduce this figure.  Social
protection in health is seen as society's guarantee, through public
authorities, that individuals can meet their health needs and demands
through adequate access to the health services of the system or of any
of the existing health subsystems in the country, regardless of ability
to pay.  In practice, excluded groups cannot take advantage of this
'guarantee'. For the full article, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100feature51.htm.
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NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: AN ECONOMIC AND HEALTH BURDEN

In the next century, the Americas will face the challenge of fighting
against a dramatic rise in non-communicable diseases. According to
information presented at the last PAHO Sanitary Conference, diseases
such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer cause 44 percent of the
deaths in the Region. The diseases have an economic effect because they
strongly affect the workforce. To fight against these problems, PAHO’s
Program of Non-communicable Diseases is working to strengthen the
capacity of the countries to formulate effective policies, strategies,
and models to control non-communicable diseases, emphasizing
cardiovascular diseases, cervical cancer, diabetes and injuries. For the
full article, visit:
http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100feature49.htm.
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VIRUSES AND BACTERIA: AN INVISIBLE ARMY, DIFFICULT TO DEFEAT

Viruses and bacteria that are becoming more resistant are soldiers of an
invisible army, difficult to defeat. Today, in addition to new and
emerging diseases such as AIDS and TB, public health officials must face
diseases such as dengue that were supposedly eradicated but have
returned with renewed strength. For PAHO, the magnitude of the problem
of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases is manifested in several
areas of public health: the ability of the national epidemiological
surveillance systems to detect and investigate the appearance of new
pathogens; the efficiency of laboratories to determine the etiology of
these agents; and the capacity to notify and speedily respond with
effective interventions against the outbreak threat.  The full feature
can be found at: http://www.paho.org/English/DPI/100/100feature50.htm.
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PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: HEALTH SYSTEMS AND SERVICES ADVISOR FOR
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

PAHO is seeking a Health Systems and Services Advisor for its field
station in Georgetown, Guyana.  Among other duties, the successful
candidate will be responsible for: providing technical cooperation to
the Ministry of Health and other institutions of the national health
system; assisting in the development and implementation of prevention
programs and health services for the control of communicable and
noncommunicable diseases with emphasis in the strengthening of local
health services to carry out program activities; and developing
standards, guidelines, and procedures for the organization, operation,
and evaluation of program activities. The application deadline is
January 27, 2003.  For more information, see the job description at:
http://pahoapl.paho.org/pahoexternalenglish/ASEPage_JobDetail.ASP.
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PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: ADVISOR ON HEALTH SERVICES ORGANIZATION AND
DEVELOPMENT FOR LIMA, PERU

PAHO is seeking an Advisor on Health Services Organization and
Development for its station in Lima, Peru.  The successful candidate
will participate in the development, implementation and evaluation of
policies and technical cooperation programs in the area of health
services. The application deadline is January 27, 2003.  For more
information on this position, visit:
http://pahoapl.paho.org/pahoexternalenglish/ASEPage_JobDetail.ASP.
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