Regional Stories
December 2024Forty-nine hours. When she told her story, Cecilia Hernandez could have rounded it off to 50, but she didn't. It took precisely 49 hours to travel from San Miguel de Tucumán, her hometown, to Rio Gallegos in southern Argentina. The journey of more than 3,000 kilometers not only allowed Cecilia to get to know new places, it also marked…
"Being an empowered woman means having confidence, strength, and the desire to succeed," explains Ericka, an Indigenous adolescent from the rural Kabebata High School in Alto Quetzal, a community located in a mountainous area four hours from the Costa Rican capital. In this region, where the Cabécar culture predominates – one of the eight…
November 2024"Death was present every minute, and people were lying around, infected with measles—especially children, the most defenseless—due to the lack of something as essential as vaccines," recalls nurse Julia Paredes López. At the age of 17, she was in a Mexican state locality called Loreto, in the state of Chihuahua, where she witnessed…
World Prematurity Day is celebrated every November 17th as a day to raise awareness of the challenges faced by premature babies and the critical need for quality neonatal care. In the context of this day, powerful stories emerge of families struggling to provide their premature children with the best possible care. PAHO emphasizes that quality…
November 2024Rocio Lazcano is an indigenous leader and President of the Social Health Council in the Department of Pando in Northern Bolivia, an area of rainforest that borders Brazil. She is passionate about ensuring the health of the indigenous population by advocating and representing the needs of the community.“It is very important for the…
October 2024A round 8,400 women die each year in the Americas due to preventable complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The main causes of maternal mortality in the region are hemorrhage (23.1%) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (22.1%). Insufficient contact between women and the healthcare system during pregnancy…
About 80% of the population in Colombia’s Putumayo Department lives in dispersed rural areas. Reaching them requires navigating rivers for five to six hours. “This makes it difficult for the population to travel to the health posts, and very difficult for the vaccines to reach all the communities and for the vaccination schedules to be complete,”…
In the context of World Rabies Day, the recent vaccination campaign for dogs and cats in Bolivia is an outstanding example of an effort to combat this disease. Countries in the Region of the Americas have reduced human cases by almost 98%, from 300 in 1983 to seven in 2023.— September 2024 —
T he 14 UTOPIAS in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, offer accessible public spaces, community kitchens, cultural centers, and sports activities to more than 1.8 million people. In the context of PAHO Wellness Week 2024, these initiatives are outstanding examples of local policies that promote and foster social cohesion, equity…