 Logo of the Pan American Health Organization | |
 Flag of the World Health Organization | |
| Abbreviation | PAHO OPS OPAS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1902; 123 years ago (1902) |
| Type | Specialized agency of the United Nations and Organization of American States |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C.,United States |
| Website | www |
Pan American Health Organization | |
|---|---|
| Membership | 35 Member States and 4 Associate Members in the Americas |
| Leaders | |
• Director | Jarbas Barbosa |
• Deputy Director | Mary Lou Valdez |
• Assistant Director | Rhonda Sealey-Thomas |
• Director of Administration | Kristan Beck |
| Establishment | 2 December 1902 (1902-12-02) |
Website www.paho.org | |
ThePan American Health Organization (PAHO) is aspecialized agency of theUnited Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in theAmericas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and noncommunicable diseases, strengthen health systems, and respond to emergencies and disasters.
PAHO has 35 Member States and four Associate Members in the region.[1] Headquartered in Washington, D.C., PAHO is the regional office for theWorld Health Organization in the Americas, and the health organization of theInter-American System. It is known inLatin America as theOPS (Spanish:Organización Panamericana de la Salud) orOPAS (Portuguese:Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde).
PAHO has scientific and technical expertise at its headquarters, in its 27 country offices, and its three Pan American centers, all working with the countries of the americas in dealing with priority health issues. The health authorities of PAHO's Member States set PAHO's technical and administrative policies through its governing bodies. The PAHO Member States include all 35 countries in the Americas;Puerto Rico is an associate member.France, theKingdom of the Netherlands, and theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the participating states, andPortugal andSpain are the observer states.
The Organization's mission is to strengthen national and local health systems and improve the health of the peoples of the Americas, in collaboration with Ministries of Health, other government and international agencies,nongovernmental organizations, universities, social security agencies, community groups, and many others.
PAHO promotes universal health coverage and universal access to health andstrengthening of health systems based on primary health care strategies. It assists countries in fighting infectious diseases such asmalaria,cholera,dengue,HIV andtuberculosis as well as the region's growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. PAHO engages in technical cooperation with ministries of health and facilitates coordination with other sectors to promote health in all policies. PAHO also promotes the use of research evidence to inform health care decisions and policymaking through the implementation of knowledge translation strategies such as theEvidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet). Through theElimination Initiative, it targets HIV/AIDS.
Specific initiatives spearheaded by PAHO include the expanded program on immunization, which played a major role in the elimination of smallpox and polio from the Americas; the Tobacco-Free Americas initiative; the Regional Coalition for Water and Sanitation to Eliminate Cholera in Hispaniola; the Salt Smart Consortium; the Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization; and a blood safety initiative that seeks to improve blood safety and efficiency by helping countries reach 100% blood supplies from unpaid voluntary donors.
The Pan American approach is a part of PAHO history and the spirit of pan-americanism continues to stimulate technical cooperation among countries in health. PAHO has helped countries work together toward common goals, and to initiate multi-country health ventures inCentral America, theCaribbean, theAndean Region, and theSouthern Cone. Experience has shown practical benefits such as the solidarity that helped Central America afterhurricane Mitch, and there are numerous other examples. Health collaboration found expression at the highest political level when American heads of state in their Summit in Santiago accepted a health initiative called "Health Technology Linking the Americas".
The countries ofLatin America and theCaribbean joined together over 20 years ago to buy vaccines through a revolving fund. These are among the Organization's most notable successes, starting with the eradication of smallpox from the Americas in 1973, a triumph followed five years later by global eradication of the dreaded disease.
A major effort committing the Americas to embark onpolio eradication in 1985 succeeded in September 1994, when a distinguished International Commission declared the Americas officially polio-free. The last case of polio in theAmericas was identified on August 23, 1991, in a young boy named Luis Fermín Tenorio Cortez, inJunín, Peru. Since then, despite intensive surveillance, no cases ofpolio have been detected anywhere in the Americas, and theWorld Health Organization is now working toward the goal of eradicating polio globally. PAHO assists the countries in mobilizing the necessary resources to provide immunization and treatment services for allvaccine-preventable diseases. PAHO is close to accomplishing the goal of eliminatingmeasles from this hemisphere and is pressing on with the introduction of new vaccines that are currently available, such asHaemophilus influenzae B. to reducemeningitis and respiratory infections. PAHO works to reduce the toll of death and illness fromdiarrheal diseases, including cholera, through case management andoral rehydration therapy to prevent deaths from dehydration, and to provide adequate diagnosis and treatment of acute respiratory infections, thus saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of children each year.
The Organization provides technical collaboration in a variety of specialized public health fields and organizes emergency preparedness and disaster relief coordination. It supports efforts to strengthen national health systems, develop national health research systems, controlmalaria,Chagas' disease, urbanrabies,leprosy, and other diseases that affect the people of the Americas. PAHO collaborates with governments, other agencies, and private groups to address major nutritional problems includingprotein-energy malnutrition, and is now working to eliminate iodine and vitamin A deficiencies.
PAHO engages in and facilitates health promotion to help countries deal with health problems typical of development and urbanization, especially non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such ascardiovascular diseases,cancer,accidents,smoking,addiction to drugs andalcohol, and injuries among others. Beyond health promotion, PAHO also addresses health systems and quality of care issues in support of national efforts to respond to the NCD pandemic. The Organization also executes projects for otherUnited Nations agencies, forinternational organizations such as theWorld Bank andInter-American Development Bank, for official development cooperation agencies of various governments, and forphilanthropic foundations.
The Organization recognizes the role of the private sector in the delivery of services and fosters dialogue and partnerships with the Ministries of Health. In addition to its core budget financed by quota contributions from its Member Governments, PAHO also seeks outside funding to help implement special programs and initiatives in response to vital health needs. Voluntary tax-deductible contributions for PAHO health and education projects in the Americas may be made to thePAHO Foundation.
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa of Brazil was elected as PAHO Director on September 28, 2022, and took office on January 31, 2023. PAHO's Deputy Director is Dr. Mary Lou Valdez,[2] of the United States, and the Assistant Director is Marcos Espinal,[3] from the Dominican Republic.
The organization was founded in December 1902. It was originally called the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau.[4]: 125 It has been described as the world's first international public health organization.[5]
In 1949, PAHO and WHO signed an agreement making PAHO the American Regional Office (AMRO) of WHO. Today the usual phrasing is "Regional Office for the Americas". The firsthemisphere-wide effort to eradicatesmallpox was made in 1950 by the PAHO.[6] The campaign was successful in eliminating smallpox from all countries of the Americas except Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador.[7]
In October 2024, health authorities in the Americas expanded PAHO's funding to help the Organization accelerate access to health technologies, particularly in response to public health emergencies and disease outbreaks.[8]
In March 1960, President Eisenhower signed into law a bill passed by the U.S. Congress[9] authorizing the U.S. government to purchase and donate a lot for the PAHO headquarters in Washington, D.C. After a competitive bid, in October 1961,[10] the PAHO declaredUruguayan architectRomán Fresnedo Siri the winner of its competition. At the ceremony announcing him as a winner, the organization's Director Abraham Horwitz said "this beautiful building will become a monument to the ideal of better health for the peoples of the Americas." He described the winning design as one of "both grace and utility", and said, "it reflects the high ideals of the Pan-American spirit in an age when we must move ahead to build a better future for our peoples."[11]
The building was designed in amodernist style.[12] Constructed in 1965, the exterior features 29 round bronzeseals of the founding nations of the Pan American Health Organization, designed by American sculptorMichael Lantz.[12] In 1993 the seals were surveyed by theSmithsonian Institution'sSave Outdoor Sculpture! program and were described as needingconservation treatment.[13]
Constructed of reinforced concrete over a steel frame with an exterior of glass and marble, the building is one of Washington's most recognized examples of midcentury modern architecture.[citation needed] The building is divided into two distinct volumes: a gracefully curved ten-story building that hosts the organization's main offices, and an adjoining four-story cylindrical annex that serves as the congress hall for formal assemblies of the PAHO member state delegates, as well as other meetings and events. It is surrounded by George Washington University to the north and east, the Columbia Plaza office/residential complex to the west, and the State Department to the south across the E street expressway underpass.
Source: Official website[14]
| Name | Years of Tenure |
|---|---|
 Walter Wyman | 1902–1911 |
| Rupert Blue | 1912–1920 |
| Hugh Smith Cumming | 1920–1947 |
| Fred Lowe Soper | 1947–1959 |
 Abraham Horwitz | 1959–1975 |
 Héctor Acuña Monteverde | 1975–1983 |
 Carlyle Guerra de Macedo | 1983–1995 |
 George Alleyne | 1995–2003 |
 Mirta Roses Periago | 2003–2013 |
 Carissa Etienne[15] | 2013–2023 |
| Jarbas Barbosa[15] | 2023– |
Member states:[16]
Antigua and Barbuda (1982)Argentina (1937)
Bahamas (1974)Barbados (1967)
Belize (1982)
Bolivia (1929)Brazil (1929)
Canada (1971)Chile (1929)
Colombia (1933)
Costa Rica (1926)
Cuba (1925)Dominica (1981)
Dominican Republic (1929)
Ecuador (1930)
El Salvador (1926)
Grenada (1977)
Guatemala (1933)
Guyana (1967)
Haiti (1926)
Honduras (1957)
Jamaica (1962)Mexico (1929)
Nicaragua (1925)
Panama (1929)
Paraguay (1939)
Peru (1926)
Saint Lucia (1980)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1981)
St. Kitts and Nevis (1984)
Suriname (1976)
Trinidad and Tobago (1963)United States of America (1925)
Uruguay (1928)
Venezuela (1933)Participating states:[16]
France (1951)
The Netherlands (1951)
United Kingdom (1951)Associate members:[16]
Aruba (2012)
Curaçao (2012)
Puerto Rico (1992)
Sint Maarten (2012)Observer states:[16]
PAHO recognizes individuals as "Public Health Heroes" to honour noteworthy contributions to public health in the Americas.[17] On the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2002, PAHO named 12 individuals to the list.[18] The award is considered PAHO's highest honour.[19][20]
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