Washington, May 2, 2017 (PAHO/WHO)-The Government of Dominica has nominated Dr. Carissa F. Etienne for a second term as Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, the secretariat of the Pan American Health Organization.
The nomination was in a letter to the President of PAHO's Executive Committee, Argentinian Health Minister Dr. Jorge Lemus, under the rules governing the election process for the position of Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau. May 1 was the deadline for countries to nominate candidates, and no other countries submitted nominations.
PAHO Legal Advisor Dr. Nancy Machado detailed the regulations and process in a meeting at PAHO today, attended by H.E. Juan Jose Arcuri, Argentina's permanent representative to the Organization of American States, and by Dr. Lemus via videoconference. Ambassador Arcuri noted that only one sealed envelope was submitted nominating a candidate, and certified the nomination of Carissa F. Etienne on behalf of Dr. Lemus.
PAHO Member States will elect the new Director during the 29th Pan American Sanitary Conference, scheduled for 25-29 September 2017 in Washington, D.C.
As required by PAHO's Constitution, the Director will have a five-year term of office and cannot be re-elected more than once. The new term of office will begin on 1 February 2018 and end on 31 January 2023.
The process for electing the PASB Director began on 1 March 2017 when the President of the PAHO Executive Committee invited PAHO's Member States, Participating States, and Associate Members to submit nominations for the Director's post.
Each PAHO Member State, Participating State, and Associate Member may nominate only one candidate, who must be a citizen of a country of the Region of the Americas. The submission deadline for nominations was 1 May 2017. All documents supporting Dominica's nomination will be translated into the Organization's four official languages and made available to all PAHO Member States, Participating States, and Associate Members on or before 1 June 2017.
