The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will present the winners of a competition titled "Best Practices for Integrating Gender in Health" during an event honoring International Women's Day 2009, Wednesday, March 11, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event will be held at PAHO Regional Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Media Advisory
WHAT: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will present the winners of a competition titled "Best Practices for Integrating Gender in Health" during an event honoring International Women's Day 2009.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Room A, Pan American Health Organization Regional Headquarters, 525 Twenty-Third Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20037. PAHO is located just four blocks from the Foggy Bottom/GW metro station.
WHO: PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses will present awards to two winning initiatives chosen from among 44 applicants from 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The winners are:
Brazil, "Empowering families in combating domestic violence." This initiative of the Laboratory for Analysis of Violence Prevention, Federal University of São Carlos, benefitted Afro-descendent and migrant groups in the city of São Carlos, Brazil. It involved men and other family members in changing violent behaviors within the family, with the result that 800 participants reported changes in their family and partner relationships.
Bolivia, "Primary Health Care with a Gender Focus" (Star Health Services). Presented by the Health Service of La Paz, the Ministry of Health and Sports, and the Pan American Health Organization in Bolivia, this initiative brought health providers together with urban migrant women of Aymara origin to better understand their needs, resulting in more culturally acceptable services and increased women's participation in disease treatment and prevention.
Featured speakers at the event, in addition to PAHO Director Roses, include:
- Dr. Wanda Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Director of the Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Dr. Marijke Velzeboer-Salcedo, Gender, Ethnicity and Health Office Coordinator, PAHO/WHO
PAHO, founded in 1902, works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
