Montevideo, December 11, 2023. Within the framework of the Regional Forum: Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, held in Montevideo, Uruguay, December 4-6, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, visited the Latin American Center for Perinatology - Women's and Reproductive Health (CLP/WR).
Dr. Barbosa, who was accompanied by the director of the Department of Health Systems and Services, Dr. James Fitzgerald, met with the center's director, Dr. Suzanne Serruya, advisors and technical team.
Barbosa praised the work of CLP/WR and highlighted the commitment of its director, as well as the technical team and advisors. "The center works on issues that are a priority for the organization, such as maternal, neonatal, sexual and reproductive health and women's health. Working comprehensively on these issues is fundamental to fulfill the commitments assumed by the region and reduce the injustices and inequities that still exist".
The PAHO Director referred to the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and the enormous setback that this implied in terms of health indicators. In particular, he commented on the increase in maternal deaths in the region, which represented a 20-year regression. "While we are now returning to pre-pandemic levels, we know that this is not enough. The pandemic exposed structural weaknesses in the health and social protection sectors that we must strengthen to respond effectively to emergencies."
The Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, which was held in Uruguay, is a framework for collaboration between PAHO, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank (WB) to promote investment, innovation and the implementation of policies and initiatives aimed at transforming health systems in the region with a focus on primary health care. "Primary health care is our path to recover lost progress and an essential investment to address our greatest health and development challenges," said Dr. Barbosa.
Maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and access to sexual and reproductive health are indicators closely linked to countries' development indices, human rights and social justice. For this reason, it is essential to make progress in these areas in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as other commitments made by the region.
On the other hand, Dr. Fitzgerald considered that the integration of CLP/WR to the Department of Health Systems and Services, wich took place en February 2023, was very positive. In particular, he mentioned that the articulation with the other units helped to adress crucial issues from a more holistic perspective. "We have the need and the opportunity to address health issues in a more articulated and intersectoral way and with a life trajectory perspective," he said.
Dr. Serruya agreed with these approaches and added that it is essential to consider the social determinants and the specific needs of populations in vulnerable situations. In this regard, she highlighted the relationship that CLP/WR maintains with all the countries in the region and the territorial and intercultural work that is carried out.
Finally, she thanked the directors for their visit and the dialogue with the CLP/WR technical team. "We greatly appreciate the openness of PAHO authorities to exchange with the center's staff," she said.
