Washington D.C. 4 May 2023 (PAHO) – Yesterday, the 2022 report of the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was presented by Dr. Jarbas Barbosa during a session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington D.C.
During his presentation, the PAHO Director updated OAS ambassadors and staff on progress towards universal health, with a focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), public health emergencies, and the elimination of communicable diseases in the Region.
The PAHO Director also provided an overview of the Organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the 238 million COVID-19 vaccine doses procured by the PAHO Revolving Fund (to December 2022), helping to bring the regional total to over 2.09 billion doses administered.
To address the continuing inequalities between and within countries and to ensure post-pandemic recovery, Dr. Barbosa highlighted his vision for the organization moving forward, which will focus on five strategic pillars.
These include ending the pandemic with the tools countries have at hand; applying the lessons learned from the pandemic to prepare for future health emergencies; ensuring equitable access to health innovations; building resilient national health systems based on Primary Health Care; and strengthening PAHO’s capacity to help member states.
