#PAHO/WHO

[suicidepreventionday]

KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

If You are considering Suicide Reacg Out to Someone You Trust or Seek Professional help. KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

The overall goal of this day is to raise awareness about suicide prevention worldwide. Objectives include promoting stakeholder collaboration and self-empowerment to address self-harm and suicide through preventative action. These can be achieved through capacity building of healthcare providers and other relevant actors, positive and informative messaging aimed at the general population and at-risk groups such as young people, and facilitating open discussion on mental health at home, at school, in the workplace, etc. Those contemplating or affected by suicide are also encouraged to share their stories and seek professional help.

[endingviolenceagainstwomenday]

Violence can be prevented and we all have a role to play!  

Now more than ever, it is time to take action to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

This is not a new issue for the Americas – there is a wealth of knowledge on how to address violence and many good practice examples that we can learn from and build on to advance this agenda together.

Learn more about priorities and indicators for progress agreed by the Ministers of Health from the Americas by clicking on the Regional Strategy and Action Plan on Strengthening the Health System to Address Violence against Women.

[worldhealthday]

The Pan American Health Organization celebrated 120 years.

In 2023, through the PAHO 120th anniversary celebrations throughout the Region at the country, sub-regional and headquarters levels, PAHO will continue to champion pro-equity strategies for universal access to health and universal health coverage and the essentiality of resilient health systems as we work to recover and rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.

[internationalwomenday]

WHO/PAHO Webinar “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.

#IStandWithHer showcases the work of remarkable women and girl human rights defenders and feminist movements fighting against the alarming backlash on human rights and gender equality. It also emphasizes how these discriminatory visions of societies – denying equal rights, dignity and choice – do not just rollback women’s rights but everyone’s human rights.

[worldcancerday]

Create a future without cancer. The time to act is now.

PAHO works with the countries to implement in the Region of the Americas the three global initiatives launched by the World Health Organization to tackle the cancer burden at global level: the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, the Global Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer and the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer.

The global cancer community commemorates World Cancer Day 2023, on February 4, with the slogan "Close the care gap", and the call to unite our voices and take action.

PAHO joins this campaign to call everyone, collectively and individually, to commit to strengthen actions aimed to improve access to quality care, including screening, early detection, treatment and palliative care. 

Join us to reduce the impact of cancer!

[africandescentday]

A webinar to mark the International Day for People of African Descent 2022 was organized by the PAHO TV on wednesday; August 31th.

[worldrefugeeday]

Launch of the Information Platform on Health and Migration in the Americas contributes to global efforts in research, evidence and data gathering

Responding to the health needs of the growing numbers of migrants and refugees worldwide requires an understanding of the health status of these populations, and their inclusion in public health policies and interventions. The scarcity of data on the health of migrants and refugees challenges evidence-informed policy making worldwide and continued efforts in generating data, information-sharing, and applying research to guide evidence-based policies are key to building people-centred, inclusive health systems that protect and promote the health of these populations.

Recognizing the need to foster knowledge-sharing in the Region of the Americas, on 16 May 2022 the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched the Information Platform on Health and Migration in the Americas, an easy-to-use interactive digital repository of key findings from research and other information on health and migration from across the Americas. The Platform includes interactive dashboards on policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks, as well as scientific literature on health and migration, aimed at all stakeholders involved in developing health and migration policies, laws, and programs. Intergovernmental organizations, health professionals, researchers, the private sector, universities, foundations, and nongovernmental and civil society organizations are also among the target audience of this new tool.

The launch of the Platform is aligned with global efforts to improve research, evidence and data gathering on health and migration, and is an important step towards meeting the priorities of the Global Action Plan “Promoting the health of refugees and migrants” (2019-2023), particularly the one on strengthening health monitoring and health information systems.

“Research and data are a priority globally and for all regions. The incomplete set of data currently available make it very difficult to use them for rational decision making or policy design. We are tyring to fill these gaps and the PAHO Platform can be a very important tool in this regard.” said Dr Santino Severoni, Director of WHO’s Health and Migration Programme, at the high-level event to launch the Platform. “The PAHO initiative has many benefits for WHO - for other regions and globally. We need to invest in such a good idea, and make it global and relevant for the whole Organization. I look forward to working together with the WHO Regional Office for the Americas to build on this experience.” 

The PAHO Platform aims to galvanize actions towards removing barriers to access to health services for those migrants and refugees that still face restricted or no access to primary health care, medicines, vaccines and mental health services.              

“As we look ahead, let us not forget that exclusion is costly and undermines our public health achievements to date,” said Dr Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO’s Assistant Director, during his welcoming remarks at the launch event. Dr Barbosa also emphasized that “the investments we make today must be made with a rights-based approach that supports the integration of migrants in national policies and legal frameworks, social protection measures, information systems, and preparedness and response plans.”

Ensuring that policies, laws and programs are designed to facilitate access to health services for migrants and refugees and fulfil their health needs requires engagement of several sectors and interest groups, including civil society, academia, the media, international organizations, community leaders, and coordination mechanisms and networks.

“The launch of the Platform is part of PAHO’s commitment to develop tools that help countries and partners advance in building inclusive social and health care systems that address the needs of all, especially those at greatest risk, such as many migrants in the region,” said Dr James Fitzgerald, Director of PAHO’s Health Systems and Services Department. 

By providing existing information on policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks, as well as advances in research on various health topics, the Platform will be instrumental in understanding information gaps, trends, and available evidence on health and migration in the Region. The Platform also offers a way to facilitate analysis, guide initiatives on health and migration and identify key areas and points of collaboration.

“This initiative promotes the gathering and dissemination of evidence that supports Member States' decision-making processes and the implementation of interventions that improve migrants' access to health services, both in normal times and during public health emergencies,” said Dr Ciro Ugarte, Director of PAHO’s Health Emergencies Department.

Developed in collaboration with the University of Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina and the Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile, the Platform will enable governments in the Americas to develop inclusive, evidence-based policies and initiatives that protect and promote the lives of millions of migrants and displaced populations and will support the design and implementation of public health interventions, research projects, and training activities in the months and years to come.

[worldmalariaday]

Regional data and trends briefing kit: World malaria report 2023.

Regional data and trends briefing kit

Download the World malaria report 2023 and the related information package.

View the Goals and milestones of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030.

[hearingday]

Cambiando la mentalidad: ¡Hagamos que el cuidado de los oídos y la audición sea una realidad para todos!

Cada año, el 03 de marzo, observamos el Día Mundial de la Audición para elevar concienciar sobre cómo prevenir la sordera y la pérdida auditiva, y promover el cuidado del oído y la audición en todo el mundo. Este año celebramos la ocasión con un llamado a centrarnos en "Cambiando la mentalidad: ¡Hagamos que el cuidado de los oídos y la audición sea una realidad para todos!" Sabemos que persisten desafíos debido a percepciones sociales erróneas y mentalidades marcadas por el estigma, y en este día renovamos nuestro enfoque para superarlos mediante la sensibilización y el intercambio de información, dirigida al público y a los proveedores de atención médica. Se estima que más de 1.500 millones de personas en todo el mundo se ven afectadas por la pérdida auditiva, casi el 80% de las cuales viven en países de ingresos bajos y medios del mundo. En nuestra propia región, se estima que actualmente 400 millones de personas tienen problemas de oído y de audición. Desafortunadamente, estas cifras están aumentando. Al ritmo actual, es probable que en 2050 haya más de 660 millones de personas con problemas de oído y de audición sólo en nuestra región. A pesar de su prevalencia y del hecho de que existen intervenciones efectivas y rentables, a nivel mundial, más del 80% de las necesidades de atención del oído y la audición siguen sin satisfacerse. Es evidente que esto debe abordarse con urgencia. La pérdida de audición tiene graves implicaciones para el desarrollo del lenguaje, el bienestar psicológico, la calidad de vida, el nivel educativo y la independencia económica.

[worldblooddonorday]

You are aged between 18 and 65.

Everybody needs blood, but not everyone has access to blood. In many countries, blood shortages are common. Giving blood helps to ensure that there is enough blood for everyone, everywhere. World Blood Donor Day 2023

[worldnotobaccoday]

Pledge to end subsidies on tobacco growing.

You must replace tobacco because it has a huge carbon footprint. It uses a lot of water, it has real environmental problems,” Sonja insists. “If we look at the carbon footprint of the cigarette industry, we see 78% of carbon emissions occur in tobacco growing and curing, not in factories or distribution, but through pesticide use and cutting down and burning forests for fuel.”

However, replacing one monoculture with another, such as growing soybeans for feed in poultry farming, does not solve the most important question for tobacco alternatives: is it sustainable – for the environment, for the economy, for the society or community where it is grown? Is it resilient to the effects of climate change?

“Farmers in rich countries can use their land for solar panels,” Sonja points out, but she says the level of investment needed is too high for a smallholder with only a hectare of arable land. “This is why governments need to support farmers financially to diversify,” she insists, noting also that tobacco farming is labour-intensive, and people cannot innovate if they are tired and sick.

Sonja is adamant that countries which are champions of tobacco control need to support the fight in other countries. As an organization, Unfairtobacco collate articles to showcase different alternative projects underway around the globe. Their map is intended as a collection of ideas and options, rather than as a research database, she says. “I would like to see governments investing in ideas, saying ‘Okay, let’s see if this works’ and, if so, making an idea accessible to other countries where tobacco farmers need it most for their livelihood.”

“We try to get the message across here in Germany that the things we use in our lives have a footprint elsewhere in the world, and that we need to change our way of living to support a change in other countries.”

[suicidepreventionday]

#DoYourShare to support mental health.

Social stigma and a lack of awareness remain major barriers to help-seeking for suicide, highlighting the need for mental health literacy and anti-stigma campaigns.

[chagasdiseaseday]

The theme for World Chagas Disease Day 2023 is Time to integrate Chagas disease into primary health care.

 There are approximately 6-7 million people infected with Chagas disease worldwide, with 10,000 deaths, every year. World Chagas Diseases Day 2023.

[worldhealthday]

Health on Track.

PAHO 120th Anniversary.

[patientsafetyday]

Enhancing Partnership with the WHO Secretariat.

Partnership with The WHO Secretariat include:  WHO at all levels – country offices, regional offices and headquarters  WHO geographically dispersed offices

[southsouthcooperationday]

Focusing on making cities resilient through South-South cooperation.

Highlighting the experiences of provinces, cities, districts, and communities of the Global South responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“SPOTLIGHTING: Cities and Other Sub-National COVID-19 Responses for South-South and Triangular Cooperation” is the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) under its South-South Cities Project framework, and the United Nations Office for Disaster and Risk Reduction (UNDRR), with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO).

This interagency collaboration started with a series of certified online training courses focusing on making cities resilient through South-South cooperation.