Washington DC-Geneva- Cuba today became the first country in the world to receive validation from the World Health Organization (WHO) that it has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
"Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General…
Washington, D.C., 29 April 2015 (PAHO/WHO) - The Americas region has become the first in the world to be declared free of endemic transmission of rubella, a contagious viral disease that can cause multiple birth defects as well as fetal death when contracted by women during pregnancy.
This achievement culminates a 15-year effort that involved…
In the last decade, the number of people receiving life-saving treatment has nearly quadrupled in the region
Washington, D.C., 27 November 2014 (PAHO/WHO) — Nearly 600,000 more people today than in 2003 are receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to data released by the Pan American Health…
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, November 24th, 2014. On Tuesday, November 10th, the University of the West Indies School of Veterinary Medicine, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations…
Washington, D.C., 29 September 2014 (PAHO/WHO) — The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and The Carter Center congratulated Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and the people of Ecuador for their country becoming the second in the world to achieve elimination of onchocerciasis (river blindness), as verified by the World Health Organization (…
Panama and Costa Rica are recognized for increasing tobacco taxes
Washington, D.C., 30 May 2014 (PAHO/WHO) — On World No Tobacco Day (31 May), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling on countries to raise taxes on tobacco to encourage users to stop and to prevent other people from becoming…
Geneva, May 5, 2014 - The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, has declared that the spread of wild poliovirus to three countries is an 'extraordinary event' and a public health emergency of international concern due to the public health risk to other countries. The declaration came after consultation with an…
Washington, D.C., 7 April 2014 (PAHO/WHO) - In a video released for World Health Day today, FC Barcelona soccer star Leonel Messi calls for more resources and drugs against Chagas' disease, a silent disease transmitted by a biting insect that currently infects 6 to 8 million people, mainly in the Americas.
The 30-second spot (https://…
One in 10 adults overall has some form of chronic kidney disease. PAHO/WHO calls on healthcare providers to test high-risk patients
Washington, D.C., 11 March 2014 (PAHO/WHO) — Diabetes and high blood pressure, together with aging, are the main risk factors for developing chronic kidney disease, which affects an estimated one in 10 adults…