Washington, D.C, 18 October 2017 (PAHO/WHO) - The American Psychological Association (APA) held its annual convention in Washington D.C., August 3. Dr. Claudina Cayetano, PAHO/WHO Regional Advisor on Mental Health, joined representatives from APA, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department in a symposium on international LGBT health and human rights policy and advocacy.
The symposium proposed the discussion of issues related to the health and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and in some instances, intersex people, all of whom are also referred to as sexual and gender minorities.
Dr. Cayetano's presentation, entitled "The Pan American Health Organization and LGBT disparities in health service access," highlighted the difficult health situation LGBT persons face in the Americas. Many barriers contribute to these disparities: the lack of appropriate LGBT legislation, poor knowledge and sensitization on the part of health care providers, and stigma and discrimination. Another key barrier facing health systems is the limited number of health situation analyses on LGBT populations and disaggregated LGBT health data in the Region.
Dr. Cayetano outlined PAHO's recent efforts in the area of LGBT health. At the 52nd Directing Council in 2013, PAHO member states passed Resolution CD52.R6, Addressing the Causes of Disparities in Health Service Access and Utilization for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Persons. Since the Resolution's passing, PAHO's Inter-programmatic LGBT Technical Working Group organized a regional meeting on the health and human rights of LGBT persons (which took place at PAHO Headquarters in 2014) and has been instrumental in organizing and drafting a report on the health situation of LGBT people in the Americas, which served as the principal source for the Director's Report at the 29th Pan American Sanitary Conference in September 2017.
