Washington, D.C., 4 February 2020 (PAHO/WHO) – Ms. Mary Lou Valdez of the United States of America has been appointed as the new Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). Ms. Valdez assumed PAHO/WHO's second-highest post, with a portfolio that…
4 February 2020- GENEVA / WASHINGTON, DC—The World Health Organization (WHO) today spells out the need to step up cancer services in low and middle-income countries. WHO warns that, if current trends continue, the world will see a 60% increase in cancer cases over the next two decades. The greatest increase (an estimated 81%) in new cases…
Washington, Jan. 30, 2020 (PAHO)—The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, today declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). In China, more than 7700 cases have been confirmed, and 170 people have died. There are 82…
Confirmed cases dropped 91% from 2018 to 2019. Washington, D.C., 30 January 2020 (PAHO)- The measles outbreak in Venezuela is under control following a series of actions taken by the country, together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its partners, including a country-wide vaccination campaign that reached almost nine million…
She also called for informing health workers on the virus and strengthening infection prevention and control measures in health facilities to prevent them from contracting acute respiratory diseases  Washington, DC, 24 January 2020 (PAHO)- Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne today urged countries in the…
Washington D.C. / Port au Prince.  23 January 2020 (PAHO/WHO) – The cholera outbreak in Haiti that began in October 2010, affecting over 820,000 people and killing 9,792, has been stopped in its tracks, with the country reaching 1-year free of confirmed cases this week.  The achievement follows concerted efforts from Haiti, the Pan…
Washington, January 21, 2020 (PAHO)—The Pan American Health Organization has updated an alert to its member countries on the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV), recommending that they strengthen surveillance activities to detect patients with acute respiratory disease, and that  “health care workers have access to up to date information on…
Nurses and midwives account for the largest proportion of the health workforce–50% of the total, but a further 9 million are needed globally to achieve the goal of universal health by 2030. Washington D.C., 3 January 2020 (PAHO/WHO)–In order to recognize the work of nurses and midwives around the world and advocate for increased investment in…
Washington, D.C., 23 December 2019 (PAHO/WHO) – From hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, to the elimination of malaria in Argentina and rabies transmitted by dogs in Mexico, 2019 was a year marked by both challenges and achievements in public health in the Americas. As dengue cases in the Americas reached over 2.7 million, the highest numbers ever…