Washington D.C. 14 November 2024 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, today convened Ministers of Health and other high-level health authorities for a panel discussion to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Pan American Sanitary Code.
The Pan American Sanitary Code, which was adopted by countries of the Americas on the 14th of November 1924 in Cuba, was the first multilateral treaty of its kind. It committed the Region of the Americas to work together to prevent the international spread of communicable diseases and committed countries to provide notification of the appearance of any suspected cases of contagion within their territories.
During the opening of the celebration, Dr. Barbosa noted that “today, a century later, 20 articles of the Pan American Sanitary Code remain in force,” establishing the fundamental duties of PAHO as a regional public health agency. The Code also inspired the creation of other global health cooperation frameworks, including the first International Health Regulations (IHR) that entered into force in 1951.
The recent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic “have shown us that, a hundred years later, the principles of Pan Americanism and solidarity, established in the Pan American Sanitary Code, remain valid and necessary,” the PAHO Director added.
For Dr. Barbosa, the amendments to the IHR, adopted during the World Health Assembly in May of this year, as well as the new Pandemic Agreement, currently being negotiated by World Health Organization (WHO) Member States are crucial “to better prepare the world for future outbreaks and public health emergencies.”
To support countries in these processes, PAHO has convened in-person meetings with countries of the Americas and Permanent Missions in Geneva, to discuss priority elements of these negotiations, and has also facilitated external evaluations of health capacities in Latin America and the Caribbean under the IHR.
The PAHO Director underscored that “the same spirit of cooperation that inspired the 1924 Code is also reflected in the implementation of the Regional Platform for Innovation and Production of Medicines,” a collaborative Pan-American effort to achieve self-sufficiency, through the regional production of medicines, vaccines and critical health supplies.”
Affirming the Organization’s continued commitment to the solidarity and cooperation that inspired the creation of the Pan American Sanitary Code 100 years ago, Dr. Barbosa called on countries to “recognize that our safety and well-being depend on unified collaboration in public health across the continent.”
“May these 100 years of Pan Americanism inspire us to continue strengthening our collaboration and solidarity, to continue building together a future of better health and well-being for the peoples of the Americas,” he concluded.
Also speaking at the celebration were PAHO Directors Emeritus, Dr. George Alleyne and Dr. Mirta Roses, as well as a Panel, moderated by Dr. Ciro Ugarte, Director of the PAHO Health Emergencies department, with the participation of Dr. Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health of Chile; Dr. Kayla Laserson, Director of the Global Health Center of the United States Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC); Dr. Vivian Kouri Cardella, Director of the Pedro Kouri Institute, Cuba; Dr Nisia Trinidade, Minister of Health of Brazil; Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); and Dr. Peter Figueroa, Professor of Public Health at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
Quotes from participants:
Dr. George Alleyne – Director Emeritus, PAHO
“The Pan American Sanitary Code is one of the most important health documents in the world. The Code is a living manifestation of the relevance of the Pan-American doctrine, and I trust that its expression in health continues to find expression in the Pan American Health Organization from generation to generation.”
Dr. Mirta Roses – Director Emeritus, PAHO
The Pan American Sanitary Code, “represents the greatest achievement in the standardization of health in the American continent and the culmination of decades of international initiatives aimed at prolonging life and achieving human happiness.”
Dr. Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health of Chile
“From my perspective, the Pan American Sanitary Code represents a landmark – in the acknowledgement of countries of the Americas about the State’s responsibility when it comes to health issues, in the promotion of public health systems, and the contextualization of the roles of public health.”
Dr. Kayla F. Laserson, Director of Global Health Center at the United States Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)
“Even 100 years ago, with the Code being initiated, the idea of surveillance and the idea of finding all the problems that there are and stopping them at their source, was there from the very beginning. But even then, as we know today, you can’t stop or control or prevent what you can’t count or see or measure.” “As we think about surveillance and the data and the people behind surveillance, we also think about partnerships and the partnership with PAHO has really been longstanding. We are similar institutions that have worked well together for years and years.”
Dr. Vivian Kouri Cardella, Director of the Pedro Kouri Institute, Cuba
“When the Pan American Sanitary Code was signed in Cuba, communicable diseases at the time were a barrier for the implementation of the sanitary code and they continue to be a threat today. Despite the progress that we have seen in molecular biology and modern medicine, we also have modern challenges when it comes to the elimination and control of communicable diseases. No country is free from these hazards.”
Dr Nisia Trinidade, Minister of Health of Brazil
“This important milestone in public health has helped in the advancement of surveillance, epidemiology, services and health security. I hope that this milestone is another step forward in intensifying collaboration among the peoples of the Americas.”
Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
“A century ago, as aircraft were just beginning to transform our world, visionary leaders gathered to sign the Pan American Sanitary Code. They made a remarkable decision – to include aviation in their groundbreaking health regulations. In an era when international travel meant long ocean trips and most health measures focused on seaports, these pioneers looked to the skies and saw the future.”
Dr. Peter Figueroa, Professor of Public Health at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica
“The elimination of smallpox is one of the most outstanding public health achievements of the Americas and globally.” “When I was growing up, children were dying of measles or crippled by polio but now this is no longer the case thanks to the success of regional vaccination programs,” that have taken place over the past 100 years of the Code. “We must sustain these historic gains in the Americas.”
