PAHO plans and implements its work through Biennial Work Plans (BWP), which are identified within the framework of the PAHO Strategic Plan and Program and Budget. Canada actively participated in the development of PAHO Strategic Plan 2020-2025 “Equity at the Heart of Health" and to the PAHO Program and Budget for the 2022-2023 biennium.
PAHO’s Canada BWP for 2022-2023 consists of two areas of work that have been identified as key priorities for the biennium.
- Climate Change and Health. PAHO recognizes that climate change poses significant risks to health and well-being and requires concerted efforts by health authorities and other stakeholders to create climate-resilient health systems that can anticipate, prepare, prevent, respond and quickly recover from climate risks. At the same time, Climate change is affecting Canada. Extreme weather events, such as wildfires and floods, underline the need for Canadians to better adapt and build resilience to climate change. This biennium, Canada and PAHO will be working together to support and strengthen the work to address climate change in the region of the Americas. For more information on the work done on climate change in Canada please click here. For more information on the work of PAHO in Climate Change, please click here.
- Strengthening regional regulatory capacity. National regulatory authorities protect the safety, quality, and efficacy of medicines and other health technologies, and play a crucial role in determining the pace at which new products are introduced. The long-standing collaboration with Canada in this area has been key to the strengthening of regulatory capacities in the Region, and at the global level. By adopting a leadership role in this area, Health Canada has committed, together with PAHO, to supporting National Regulatory Authority of Regional Reference (NRAr) in the implementation of a WHO global benchmarking tool to promote good regulatory practices, sharing of experiences and learning from each other. Specifically, this project seeks to strengthen national regulatory systems in the Region, through the creation of technical training mechanisms and technical and scientific exchanges among the national regulatory authorities of the Region.
Canada has been actively engaged in promoting health in the Americas since 1971, when it officially joined the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Over the years, Canada has placed great importance on technical cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean, based on the principles of equity and Pan-Americanism.
The PAHO-Canada Portal is envisioned as a collaborative user-friendly space for discussion of health issues in the Americas. It is an initiative led by PAHO in collaboration with the following Government of Canada institutions, who work regularly with PAHO.
The Health Portfolio includes:
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Canadian Institute of Health Research
- Health Canada
- Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
- Public Health Agency of Canada
The Office of International Affairs for the Health Portfolio is the focal point for PAHO/WHO in Canada. The Office of International Affairs, located in the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is responsible for the Government of Canada's overall relations with the Organization.