Asunción, 12 March 2019 - The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, met with the President of the Republic of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, on 11 March, to discuss the country’s public health achievements and challenges, as well as PAHO’s technical cooperation regarding these matters.
“We talked about the challenges with reducing infant mortality, as well as those regarding noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Overcoming these challenges will require collaboration with other sectors. We also discussed PAHO and the Ministry of Health’s plan to work together on country priorities,” said the Director of PAHO.
“I congratulate Paraguay for taking a firm decision to strengthen primary health care (PHC) as a strategy to achieve health equity and access, particularly for vulnerable populations. PHC is the right path and Paraguay is already taking it.” Carissa F. Etienne
The Director of PAHO also emphasized the importance of addressing tobacco use, through measures such as the creation of a tax on tobacco products and tackling illicit trade, measures that the Paraguayan government is taking. Etienne said that PAHO supports countries in the implementation of actions to reduce smoking, and clarified that, like Paraguay, each country must decide how to do this. “The tax on tobacco has two advantages – on the one hand it reduces demand, and on other the other hand it helps raise funds to be used for health care,” she highlighted.
The Director of PAHO was joined in the meeting by the Minister of Health, Dr. Julio Mazzoleni and the PAHO/WHO Representative in Paraguay, Dr. Luis Roberto Escoto.
Signing of the Country Cooperation Strategy
Following the meeting, the Director of PAHO and the organization’s Representative in Paraguay signed a document that agrees to cooperation with PAHO until 2023. It was signed on behalf of the Paraguayan government by the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Castiglioni.
Mazzoleni highlighted that the country’s priorities are reflected in the cooperation agreement and include strengthening the first level of care, health system reform, the use of technology for health and, finally, strengthening the purchase of medicines. He also highlighted the significance of the visit, as the Director of Paho is “an advocate, as well as an innovator in the field of primary health care.”
The formulation of the Country Cooperation Strategy was carried out through a joint development process that began in 2017. This consisted of consultations and dialogues with the main national health sector actors, in order to define the challenges to be addressed by PAHO/WHO technical cooperation in Paraguay.
The Country Cooperation Strategy 2019-2023 is based on a health assessment that identified challenges to be addressed based on the following strategic priorities:
- Comprehensive reform of the health system in order to advance towards achieving universal health coverage and access without leaving anyone behind, as a pillar of national development;
- The unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals, from the perspective of compliance with the SDGs: a reduction in maternal, neonatal and infant mortality and adolescent pregnancy;
- Reduce the burden and impact of noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors;
- Reduce and eliminate communicable diseases, including those preventable by vaccination; and
- Improving the country’s capacity to respond to health emergencies and natural disasters, addressing the social determinants of health and ensuring healthy and safe environments.
The strategic agenda built on these priorities will be developed into a methodological framework guided by results management. This will include transversal axes such as gender, equity, human rights and interculturality.
Director receives honor from the government of Paraguay
During the day’s activities, the Government of the Republic of Paraguay honored the PAHO Director with the “Grand Cross” National order of Merit. This is in recognition of her work supporting Paraguay in the improvement of its health system. The honor was presented by the National Chancellor, Luis Castiglioni.
The National Order of Merit was created by the Honorable National Extraordinary Congress in 1865 and is granted to those worthy of national gratitude for extraordinary and exceptional services rendered to the country.
