On 2 December 2022, the Pan American Health Organization celebrated 120 years of active work in the public health arena of the Americas, collaborating with and supporting the countries of the Region to improve the health and well-being of their populations. Celebrations throughout the Region at the country, sub-regional and headquarters levels, to highlight the historic public health gains made by our Member States and catalyzed through PAHO's work, will mark this auspicious anniversary.
Through our 120th anniversary celebrations, we will continue to champion pro-equity strategies for universal access to health and universal health coverage and the essentiality of resilient health systems as we work to recover and rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic set back progress and revealed that health systems remain fragile and susceptible. It also confirmed the need to transform them to respond effectively to a crisis without disrupting essential health services. Health service coverage in the Americas region improved, albeit slowly, during the 20 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, 77% of the population had health coverage compared to 65% in 2000. The availability of health workers increased and government investment in health grew by 1.1 percentage points. In almost two decades, average life expectancy at birth rose from 73.7 years in 2000 to 77 years in 2019.
Mexico: the long road to tobacco control
In 2004, Mexico became the first country in the Americas to ratify the landmark WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but it would take another 20 years before its measures became enshrined in Mexican law. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today, killing nearly one million people in the Americas each year, either through direct consumption or exposure to second-hand smoke. It accounts for 15% of deaths from cardiovascular disease, 24% of deaths from cancer, and 45% of deaths from chronic respiratory disease.
In 1902, the vision of the 10 founding Member States of the International Sanitary Bureau—PAHO’s predecessor agency—was strongly focused on the critical importance of working together to monitor sanitary conditions at ports; study and investigate outbreaks of diseases such as yellow fever; ensure the widest possible protection of the public’s health to ensure disease elimination; and encourage and enforce essential sanitation and sanitary improvements to eliminate infections and vectors such as mosquitoes, especially at seaports.
Dr Carissa F Etienne Remarks Gala 120 Anniversary
PAHO has stayed true to this vision as those elements of the mission of our founding fathers continue to be part of our current and expanded mission to lead strategic collaborative efforts among Member States and other partners to promote equity in health, combat disease, and improve the quality of—and lengthen—the lives of the peoples of the Americas.
During the opening of the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference. "Celebrating 120 Years of Solidarity in Advancing Health and Well-Being, Leaving No One Behind." Featuring photography from the vast PAHO collection, this exhibit explores some highlights of PAHO's work and milestones from recent years.
26 September 2022
