Regional Stories
Bridgetown, Barbados, July 22, 2024 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is supporting the health response in affected Caribbean countries following the devastating passage of Hurricane Beryl.Hurricane Beryl, the earliest ever recorded Category 5 hurricane in the North Atlantic, hit the eastern Caribbean on 1 July as a high-end…
Environmental surveillance of poliovirus is crucial for detecting its presence through the collection and analysis of wastewater samples. While the Americas region was certified poliovirus-free in 1994, cases are still reported in other parts of the world. This strategy, recommended by Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Technical Advisory…
Georgetown, Guyana 11 July 2024 – The next step in a mass drug administration (MDA) campaign to eliminate lymphatic filariasis began this week in Guyana, led by the country’s Ministry of Health and supported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).The campaign, launched on 5 July at the Carmel Secondary School in Georgetown, aims to treat…
May 2024Stephannie Lizama traveled from the village of San Lazaro to the Orange Walk health center in the north-east of Belize that morning, a journey that takes over three hours by foot. At 31 weeks pregnant with her second child, she had been experiencing some sickness and was keen to receive her prenatal checks.…
The vaccine hurt a little," 8 year-old, Angel Fabian said, smiling with relief after receiving a booster dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The boy, who lives in the neighborhood of San Juan in the Aguas Zarcas district, three hours from the capital, San José, was one the children reached by a vaccination campaign to prevent…
February 2024In the remote community of Tekohá Y' Apo, in the Department of Canindeyú, some 280 kilometers from Paraguay's capital, stands the Avá Guaraní ethnic group health post, a small pink wooden house with a tin roof. For years, medical care in the area was limited, but recently, thanks to an initiative led by the Pan American Health…
Do you know why it is so important to get your vaccines?” Claudia asked her 10-year old son, Adil, who sat with her in the waiting room of the local health center in Rio Claro, Trinidad. “So I can enter secondary school?” he answered. “And why else, love?” “So that if I ever get the virus, I won’t need to worry about getting sick. I…
In 2023, the Americas has seen the highest number of dengue cases in its history, with climate change being a potential contributor. Actions to reduce the population of mosquitoes that transmit the disease are essential to prevent and control dengue.
— Asunción, Paraguay, November 2023 —