CINXE.COM
A Word from the Director | Health in the Americas
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="content: http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/ dc: http://purl.org/dc/terms/ foaf: http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/ og: http://ogp.me/ns# rdfs: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema# schema: http://schema.org/ sioc: http://rdfs.org/sioc/ns# sioct: http://rdfs.org/sioc/types# skos: http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core# xsd: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema# "> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-107047084-1"></script> <script>window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};gtag("js", new Date());gtag("set", "developer_id.dMDhkMT", true);gtag("config", "UA-107047084-1", {"groups":"default","anonymize_ip":true,"page_placeholder":"PLACEHOLDER_page_path"});</script> <meta name="description" content="In 2019, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Member States approved the Elimination Initiative, an ambitious, comprehensive, person-centered framework aimed at eliminating more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030." /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://hia.paho.org/en/node/312" /> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow" /> <link rel="image_src" href="https://hia.paho.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/paho-director.jpg" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Health in the Americas" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://hia.paho.org/en/word-director" /> <meta property="og:title" content="A Word from the Director" /> <meta property="og:description" content="In 2019, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Member States approved the Elimination Initiative, an ambitious, comprehensive, person-centered framework aimed at eliminating more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030." /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://hia.paho.org/sites/default/files/styles/facebook/public/2024-09/paho-director.jpg?h=e35a1c02&itok=JAmikGkW" /> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" /> <meta property="og:image:alt" content="PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva" /> <meta property="og:updated_time" content="2024-10-03T15:38:31-04:00" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-09-27T19:14:31-04:00" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-10-03T15:38:31-04:00" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="In 2019, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Member States approved the Elimination Initiative, an ambitious, comprehensive, person-centered framework aimed at eliminating more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030." /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="A Word from the Director" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://hia.paho.org/sites/default/files/styles/twitter/public/2024-09/paho-director.jpg?h=e35a1c02&itok=dMWfgmoL" /> <meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva" /> <meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 10 (https://www.drupal.org)" /> <meta name="MobileOptimized" content="width" /> <meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="true" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no" /> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=Edge" /> <link rel="icon" href="/sites/default/files/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://hia.paho.org/en/word-director" /> <script src="/sites/default/files/google_tag/gtm_hia/google_tag.script.js?smyqy3" defer></script> <title>A Word from the Director | Health in the Americas</title> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/align.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/fieldgroup.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/container-inline.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/clearfix.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/details.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/hidden.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/item-list.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/js.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/nowrap.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/position-container.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/reset-appearance.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/resize.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/system-status-counter.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/system-status-report-counters.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/system-status-report-general-info.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/system/components/tablesort.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/contrib/poll/css/poll.base.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/contrib/poll/css/poll.theme.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/views/views.module.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.13.1/css/all.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.13.1/css/v4-shims.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/contrib/extlink/extlink.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/custom/themag_layouts/assets/css/section.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/custom/themag_layouts/assets/css/onecol-section.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/custom/themag_layouts/assets/css/twocol-section.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/modules/contrib/paragraphs/css/paragraphs.unpublished.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/core/assets/vendor/normalize-css/normalize.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/stable/css/core/normalize-fixes.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.7.1/css/all.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.7.1/css/v4-shims.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto+Condensed:300,400,700|Roboto:300,300i,400,400i,500,500i,700,700i,900&amp;subset=cyrillic,greek" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/action-links.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/collapse-processed.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/container-inline.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/form.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/inline-form.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/tabledrag.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/tableselect.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/tablesort.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/ui-dialog.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/contrib/classy/css/components/node.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="//stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.4.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/themag/assets/css/themag.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/themag_st/assets/css/subtheme.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/themag_st/assets/css/custom.css?smyqy3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/themag/assets/css/components/modules/we-megamenu.css?smyqy3" /> <script src="/sites/default/files/asset_injector/js/microsoft_clarity_heatmap-7f88948602c88840678ca20782a09e7e.js?smyqy3"></script> </head> <body class="path-node page-node-type-article"> <a href="#main-content" class="visually-hidden focusable skip-link"> Skip to main content </a> <div id="top"></div> <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-NXMJMVJ" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas> <div class="layout-builder-powered-page"> <div class="top-bar"> <div class="container top-bar__container"> <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> <div class="col-auto top-bar__right"> <div class="region region-top-bar-second"> <div class="language-switcher-language-url block block--language block--region-top-bar-second block--language-block:language-interface" id="block-languageswitcher" role="navigation"> <div class="block__content"><ul class="links"><li hreflang="en" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/312" class="en is-active" aria-current="page"><a href="/en/word-director" class="language-link is-active" hreflang="en" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/312" aria-current="page">English</a></li><li hreflang="es" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/312" class="es"><a href="/es/node/312" class="language-link" hreflang="es" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/312">Español</a></li></ul></div> </div> <div id="block-pahologoresponsiveen" class="block block--block-content block--region-top-bar-second block--block-content:33b4617d-5072-4386-a61e-26b7daa9f4f2"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="pahoresp"><img alt="PAHO Logo" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c6d441c3-b8f5-4486-b1af-67e50b4d1d12" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/en-logo-120.png" style="width:100%;height:auto" width="956" height="172" loading="lazy"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="block-hialogoresponsiveen" class="block block--block-content block--region-top-bar-second block--block-content:ee977a0a-f797-4a2a-8fb5-55c6fd5dd54a"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="hiaresp"><a href="/"><img alt="Health in the Americas 2022" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/en-hia-728_0.png" style="width:100%;height:auto"></a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container-fluid long-banner-bg"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-4"> <div class="region region-long-banner1"> <div id="block-smallfooterlogo" class="block block--block-content block--region-long-banner1 block--block-content:0ac869aa-40fb-4161-8615-7e157af219bf"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="https://www.paho.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-04/en-logo-no120_3.png" alt="PAHO Logo"></a></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-8"> <div> <div class="region region-long-banner2"> <div id="block-hiatopbannerrighten" class="block block--block-content block--region-long-banner2 block--block-content:8040e278-2d77-4e0a-9546-69866d85abdb"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p class="lg2-right"><a href="/"><img alt="Health in the Americas 2022" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b2ba0875-d8e9-4a6b-9cae-a32b96bcb97b" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/en-hia-728_0.png" title="Health in the Americas 2022" class="align-right" width="728" height="90" loading="lazy"></a></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="header-container header-container--header-a js-page-header"> <header class="header header--header-a"> <div class="header__container-wrapper--header__main js-sticky-header-element"> <div class="header__container header__container--boxed"> <div class="header__main"> <div class="header__main__left"> <div class="region region-header-primary-menu"> <div id="block-mainnavigation-2" class="block block--we-megamenu block--region-header-primary-menu block--we-megamenu-block:main"> <div class="block__content"><div class="region-we-mega-menu"> <a class="navbar-toggle collapsed"> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </a> <nav class="main navbar navbar-default navbar-we-mega-menu mobile-collapse hover-action" data-menu-name="main" data-block-theme="themag_st" data-style="Default" data-animation="None" data-delay="" data-duration="" data-autoarrow="" data-alwayshowsubmenu="" data-action="hover" data-mobile-collapse="0"> <div class="container-fluid"> <ul class="we-mega-menu-ul nav nav-tabs"> <li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="1d6bfb1c-8b12-467f-846d-0c8b530c18f0" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en" target=""> Home </a> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="4823cc8f-d1d8-47d2-b79b-d0e87541ea82" data-submenu="1" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a href='#' data-drupal-link-system-path="<front>" class="we-megamenu-nolink"> Previous Topics</a> <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="" style="width: px"> <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner"> <div class="we-mega-menu-row row no-gutters" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0"> <div class="we-mega-menu-col col-12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class=""> <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul"> <li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="e34dd01e-abfa-4559-885a-c8df90a0a5fd" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self"> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/avoidable-mortality" target="_self"> Potentially Avoidable Premature Mortality </a> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="07738e60-03ca-41a0-96a6-b35d070d7267" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self"> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/covid-2022" target="_self"> COVID-19 in the Americas - Overview </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="List of country and territory profiles" data-id="2671eadb-f05b-4c65-a82f-fcfca35de72c" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/country-profiles" target=""> Country Profiles </a> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="fb9e6e14-0977-4274-b748-b549252e7238" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/browse-knowledge-topics-a-z" target=""> Knowledge Topics </a> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="00e7eab8-b6c7-4381-8dde-c1043eb00c48" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/publications-interest" target=""> Publications </a> </li><li class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="f6124ddc-00ae-464f-a6c8-31b3e6b2c1b9" data-submenu="0" data-hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target=""> <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/en/about-health-americas" target=""> About </a> </li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="header__main__right"> <div class="header__social-menu"> <a class="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank"> <i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i> </a> <a class="twitter" href="https://twitter.com/" target="_blank"> <i class="fab fa-twitter"></i> </a> <a class="youtube" href="https://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank"> <i class="fab fa-youtube"></i> </a> <a class="instagram" href="https://instagram.com/" target="_blank"> <i class="fab fa-instagram"></i> </a> <a class="pinterest" href="https://www.pinterest.com/" target="_blank"> <i class="fab fa-pinterest-p"></i> </a> </div> <div class="header__user-nav"> <div class="d-flex"> <button class="header__toggleable-button js-toggle-search"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> </button> </div> <button class="header__toggleable-button toggle-offcanvas-sidebar js-toggle-offcanvas-sidebar"> <i class="fas fa-bars"></i> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="region region-search"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12"> <div class="search-block-form block block--search block--region-search block--search-form-block block-search" data-drupal-selector="search-block-form" id="block-searchform-2" role="search"> <div class="block-content"><form action="/en/search/node" method="get" id="search-block-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"> <div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-search form-type-search js-form-item-keys form-item-keys form-no-label"> <label for="edit-keys" class="visually-hidden">Search</label> <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." placeholder="Enter the terms you wish to search for" data-drupal-selector="edit-keys" type="search" id="edit-keys" name="keys" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" class="form-search" /> </div> <div data-drupal-selector="edit-actions" class="form-actions js-form-wrapper form-wrapper" id="edit-actions"><input data-drupal-selector="edit-submit" type="submit" id="edit-submit" value="Go" class="button js-form-submit form-submit" /> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> </div> <div class="region region--offcanvas-sidebar"> <div id="offcanvas-sidebar" class="sidr" style="display: none;"> <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-themag-st-mainnavigation-3-menu" id="block-themag-st-mainnavigation-3" class="block block--system block--region-offcanvas-sidebar block--system-menu-block:main block-menu navigation menu--main"> <h2 class="block__title visually-hidden" id="block-themag-st-mainnavigation-3-menu">Main navigation</h2> <ul class="menu"> <li class="menu-item"> <a href="/en" data-drupal-link-system-path="<front>">Home</a> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item--collapsed"> <span>Previous Topics</span> </li> <li class="menu-item"> <a href="/en/country-profiles" title="List of country and territory profiles" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/132">Country Profiles</a> </li> <li class="menu-item"> <a href="/en/browse-knowledge-topics-a-z" data-drupal-link-system-path="browse-knowledge-topics-a-z">Knowledge Topics</a> </li> <li class="menu-item"> <a href="/en/publications-interest" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/107">Publications</a> </li> <li class="menu-item"> <a href="/en/about-health-americas" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/241">About</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="offcanvas-sidebar-overlay"></div> <div class="region region-content"> <div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div> <div id="block-themag-st-content" class="block block--system block--region-content block--system-main-block"> <div class="block__content"> <article data-history-node-id="312" about="/en/word-director" class="node node--type-article node--view-mode-full"> <div class="node__content"> <div class="themag-layout themag-layout--twocol-section themag-layout--twocol-section--9-3 themag-layout--my-default mt-5 mt-lg-6"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="themag-layout__region themag-layout__region--first js-sticky-column"> <div> <div class="views-element-container block block--views block--views-block:mg-article-headers-block-4"> <div class="block__content"><div><div class="view view-mg-article-headers view-id-mg_article_headers view-display-id-block_4 js-view-dom-id-ceb6ad4ad3c73a4e64a9d4896cfdb6f8f73fc6f58a65730f409601bb0dcf02cd"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row"><header class="article-header"> <div class="article-header__content"> <div class="article-header__channel"> <div class="channel"> <div class="channel__icon" data-background data-color="rgb(236,182,64)"></div> <div class="channel__label"><a href="/en/elimination-initiative" hreflang="en">Elimination Initiative</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="article-header__title"> <p class="h5 m-1 text-dark"></p> <h1><span class="text-secondary mb-1">A Word from the Director</span></h1> </div> <div class="article-header__meta"> <div class="byline"> <div class="byline__author-picture"> <a href="/en/hia-editor/6" hreflang="en"><img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/mg_user_profile_picture_thumbnail/public/pictures/2024-10/minilogo.png?h=dae31d13&itok=bARGHFW4" width="60" height="60" alt="" typeof="Image" class="img-fluid" /> </a> </div> <div> By <span class="byline__author-name"><span lang="" about="/en/hia-editor/6" typeof="Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">PAHO/OPS</span></span>, <span class="byline__created-date"><time datetime="2024-09-27T19:14:31-04:00" class="datetime">27 September, 2024</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="block block--layout-builder block--field-block:node:article:field-paragraphs"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p><img style="float:left;margin:6px 14px 2px 0;" src="/sites/default/files/2024-09/paho-director.jpg" alt="PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr." width="150" height="170" loading="lazy">In 2019, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its Member States approved the Elimination Initiative: an ambitious, comprehensive, community- and person-centered framework aimed at eliminating more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030. It builds on the Region's successes while addressing emerging challenges and further strengthening health systems. While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the pace of the Elimination Initiative, programs developed many innovative approaches during this period to ensure the provision of quality healthcare services. These continue to be valuable strategies today.</p><p>In September 2023, PAHO relaunched the Elimination Initiative to stimulate a renewed, stronger, and more mature effort to complete its goal and implement lessons learned during the pandemic. This edition of Health in the Americas: Accelerating disease elimination examines why the Elimination Initiative is important at this moment in time, takes stock of progress toward its targets, and advances the discussion on what will accelerate actions necessary for achieving elimination targets.</p><p>The Elimination Initiative provides a common and sustainable framework to facilitate concerted efforts among countries, civil society organizations, communities, partners, and donors to work toward four fundamental lines of action required to achieve the elimination targets: (1) strengthening the integration of health systems and service delivery, (2) strengthening strategic health surveillance and information systems, (3) addressing the environmental and social determinants of health, and (4) strengthening governance, stewardship, and finance.</p><p>While the Region has made significant progress in disease elimination, its countries face ongoing challenges, and data reveal great disparities both among and within countries. Accelerating progress toward the initiative’s targets requires urgent action to address social and environmental determinants of health.</p><p>The Elimination Initiative is not just a possibility but also a call to action, promoting collaboration and innovation to transform health outcomes across the Region. Its framework is uniquely adaptable to the context of each country. Its tailored approach supports countries to create and implement specific action plans based on the endemic diseases and unique health challenges they face and customize strategies to local needs that maximize impact for countries to effectively eliminate targeted diseases and conditions.</p><p>Investing in disease elimination offers substantial benefits for both health and economic development in the Americas. Global estimates suggest high cost-effectiveness for interventions against neglected infectious diseases, with returns ranging from USD 25 to USD 115 per dollar invested across various diseases. The socioeconomic benefits of eliminating diseases like leprosy, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease are estimated in the billions of dollars. Countries are called to action to tackle critical communicable diseases by harnessing regional expertise, driving highlevel advocacy, forging partnerships, and integrating elimination efforts into primary health care. Cross-border collaboration, strategic alliances with donors, and community engagement are crucial for achieving and sustaining elimination targets, making a lasting impact in the fight against communicable diseases.</p><p>The Elimination Initiative presents a unique opportunity to foster collaboration among countries to overcome common challenges in their efforts to eliminate diseases and to share good practices, resources, and innovations. To accelerate disease elimination efforts in the Americas, Member States should implement proven and innovative strategies, ensure access to new technologies, enhance data collection and use, emphasize intercultural approaches, and foster collaboration across sectors and stakeholders.</p><p>As the leading public health organization supporting countries in the Americas, PAHO – with historical roots firmly planted in controlling the spread of disease – remains steadfast in its commitment with Member States to achieve the targets of the Elimination Initiative.</p><p>Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr.<br>Director of the Pan American Health Organization</p><p><button class="btn" style="background-color:#e6e6e6;border:1px solid #ddd;" role="button" onclick="history.back()">Go Back to Home Page</button></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="themag-layout__region themag-layout__region--second js-sticky-column"> <div> <div class="block block--block-content block--block-content:2ec53837-c60e-469d-9ecf-8982c1657803"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div style="background-color:#e6e6e6;color:#006b99;padding:10px;"><h2 class="h5" style="border-top:4px solid #006b99;font-size:125%;padding-top:4px;">CURRENT TOPIC</h2><ul style="padding-left:20px;"><li><a href="/en/elimination-initiative-home">Accelerating Disease Elimination</a></li></ul><h2 class="h5" style="border-top:4px solid #006b99;font-size:125%;padding-top:4px;">CHAPTERS</h2><ul style="padding-left:20px;"><li><a href="/en/node/305">Executive Summary</a></li><li><a href="/en/node/306">Chapter 1: Overview of Elimination Initiative</a></li><li><a href="/en/node/307">Chapter 2: Regional Progress Towards Elimination Targets</a></li><li><a href="/en/node/308">Chapter 3: Perspectives on Disease-specific Interventions</a></li><li><a href="/en/node/309">Chapter 4: How to Accelerate the Elimination Efforts in the Region</a></li><li><a href="/en/node/310">Chapter 5: Achieving elimination</a></li></ul><h2 class="h5" style="border-top:4px solid #006b99;font-size:125%;padding-top:4px;">REFERENCES</h2><ul style="padding-left:20px;"><li><a href="/en/node/311">All the references</a></li></ul><h2 class="h5" style="border-top:4px solid #006b99;font-size:125%;padding-top:4px;">OTHERS</h2><ul style="padding-left:20px;"><li><a href="/en/node/132">Country Profiles</a></li><li><a href="https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/61689">PDF Version</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="themag-layout themag-layout--onecol-section themag-layout--onecol-section--12 themag-layout--py-small themag-layout--my-default"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="themag-layout__region themag-layout__region--first"> <div> <div class="views-element-container block block--views block--views-block:mg-content-related-by-category-block-1"> <h2 class="block__title"> <span class="title-text">More Elimination Initiative</span> </h2> <div class="block__content"><div><div class="view view-mg-content-related-by-category view-id-mg_content_related_by_category view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-c817e6ee89d2a5990e8a89a93fdb1019108d1be3dba92b9596b5e1329957dbb6"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="grid-lg--3-columns"> <ul> <li> <article data-history-node-id="309" lang="es" about="/es/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region" class="teaser--item teaser--small-item teaser"> <div class="teaser__media"> <div class="position-relative"> <div class="image teaser__image"> <a href="/es/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region"> <div class="field field--name-field-teaser-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-25.jpg?h=74964fd0&itok=JAs-U4Nr 1x" media="all and (min-width: 768px)" type="image/jpeg" width="170" height="170"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item_mobile/public/2024-09/elimination-25.jpg?h=74964fd0&itok=teTXg_We 1x" type="image/jpeg" width="120" height="120"/> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-25.jpg?h=74964fd0&itok=JAs-U4Nr" width="170" height="170" alt="Indigenous women in Latin America" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-fluid" /> </picture> </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="teaser__content"> <header> <div class="channel teaser__channel"> <div class="field field--name-field-channel field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <i style="background-color: #ECB640; opacity: 1"> </i> <a href="/es/iniciativa-de-eliminacion" hreflang="es">Iniciativa de Eliminación</a> </div> </div> <h2 class="teaser__headline"> <a href="/es/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Capítulo 4: Acelerar los esfuerzos de eliminación de enfermedades en la región</span> </a> </h2> </header> <footer class="teaser__authored"> <span class="date">Oct 04, 2024</span> </footer> <div class="teaser__body"> </div> </div> </article> </li> <li> <article data-history-node-id="305" lang="es" about="/es/elimination-initiative-executive-summary" class="teaser--item teaser--small-item teaser"> <div class="teaser__media"> <div class="position-relative"> <div class="image teaser__image"> <a href="/es/elimination-initiative-executive-summary"> <div class="field field--name-field-teaser-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-thumb-23.jpg?h=6966a741&itok=uOcwzFUa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 768px)" type="image/jpeg" width="170" height="170"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item_mobile/public/2024-09/elimination-thumb-23.jpg?h=6966a741&itok=ebTdofyv 1x" type="image/jpeg" width="120" height="120"/> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-thumb-23.jpg?h=6966a741&itok=uOcwzFUa" width="170" height="170" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-fluid" /> </picture> </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="teaser__content"> <header> <div class="channel teaser__channel"> <div class="field field--name-field-channel field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <i style="background-color: #ECB640; opacity: 1"> </i> <a href="/es/iniciativa-de-eliminacion" hreflang="es">Iniciativa de Eliminación</a> </div> </div> <h2 class="teaser__headline"> <a href="/es/elimination-initiative-executive-summary"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Resumen ejecutivo</span> </a> </h2> </header> <footer class="teaser__authored"> <span class="date">Oct 04, 2024</span> </footer> <div class="teaser__body"> </div> </div> </article> </li> <li> <article data-history-node-id="310" about="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination" class="teaser--item teaser--small-item teaser"> <div class="teaser__media"> <div class="position-relative"> <div class="image teaser__image"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination"> <div class="field field--name-field-teaser-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-33.jpg?h=6ea5f43d&itok=9iQF8c2Z 1x" media="all and (min-width: 768px)" type="image/jpeg" width="170" height="170"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item_mobile/public/2024-09/elimination-33.jpg?h=6ea5f43d&itok=OzCerzba 1x" type="image/jpeg" width="120" height="120"/> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/small_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-33.jpg?h=6ea5f43d&itok=9iQF8c2Z" width="170" height="170" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-fluid" /> </picture> </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="teaser__content"> <header> <div class="channel teaser__channel"> <div class="field field--name-field-channel field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <i style="background-color: #ECB640; opacity: 1"> </i> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative" hreflang="en">Elimination Initiative</a> </div> </div> <h2 class="teaser__headline"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chapter 5: Achieving Elimination</span> </a> </h2> </header> <footer class="teaser__authored"> <span class="date">Sep 30, 2024</span> </footer> <div class="teaser__body"> </div> </div> </article> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> <footer class="page-footer"> <div class="footer-wrapper"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-lg-4 mb-4 mb-lg-0"> <div class="region region-footer-first"> <div id="block-smallfooterlogo-2" class="block block--block-content block--region-footer-first block--block-content:0ac869aa-40fb-4161-8615-7e157af219bf"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="https://www.paho.org/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-04/en-logo-no120_3.png" alt="PAHO Logo"></a></p></div> </div> </div> <div id="block-themag-st-shortaboutus-2" class="block block--block-content block--region-footer-first block--block-content:7220b7e7-3ead-421a-b249-d9279bcadfc2"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Health in the Americas was created in 1954, and since its groundbreaking first edition in 1956 has been published fifteen times. Since its inception, it has been recognized as the flagship publication of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), being a unique report on the great advances, challenges, and trends in the field of health in the Region of the Americas.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-4 mb-4 mb-lg-0"> <div class="region region-footer-second"> <div class="views-element-container block block--views block--region-footer-second block--views-block:content-recent-block-1" id="block-themag-st-views-block-content-recent-block-1-2"> <h2 class="block__title"> <span class="title-text">Latest</span> </h2> <div class="block__content"><div><div class="view view-content-recent view-id-content_recent view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-2ccd24234c4ab57fe469402bcbeabd0ebd529730221808aa1fa974ff6ab0e330"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="list list--tiny"> <ul> <li> <article data-history-node-id="310" about="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination" class="teaser--item teaser--tiny-item teaser"> <div class="teaser__media"> <div class="position-relative"> <div class="image teaser__image"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination"> <div class="field field--name-field-teaser-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/tiny_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-33.jpg?h=6ea5f43d&itok=eoXs7Jet" width="135" height="76" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-fluid" /> </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="teaser__content"> <header> <h2 class="teaser__headline"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-five-achieving-elimination"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chapter 5: Achieving Elimination</span> </a> </h2> </header> <footer class="teaser__authored"> <span class="date">Sep 30, 2024</span> </footer> <div class="teaser__body"> </div> </div> </article> </li> <li> <article data-history-node-id="309" about="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region" class="teaser--item teaser--tiny-item teaser"> <div class="teaser__media"> <div class="position-relative"> <div class="image teaser__image"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region"> <div class="field field--name-field-teaser-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/tiny_teaser_item/public/2024-09/elimination-25.jpg?h=74964fd0&itok=hdT1Oj4m" width="135" height="76" alt="Indigenous women in Latin America" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-fluid" /> </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="teaser__content"> <header> <h2 class="teaser__headline"> <a href="/en/elimination-initiative/chapter-four-how-accelerate-elimination-efforts-region"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chapter 4: How to Accelerate the Elimination</span> </a> </h2> </header> <footer class="teaser__authored"> <span class="date">Sep 30, 2024</span> </footer> <div class="teaser__body"> </div> </div> </article> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-4"> <div class="region region-footer-third"> <div class="search-block-form block block--search block--region-footer-third block--search-form-block block-search" data-drupal-selector="search-block-form-2" id="block-searchform" role="search"> <h2 class="block__title block-title"> <span class="title-text">Search</span> </h2> <div class="block-content"><form action="/en/search/node" method="get" id="search-block-form--2" accept-charset="UTF-8"> <div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-search form-type-search js-form-item-keys form-item-keys form-no-label"> <label for="edit-keys--2" class="visually-hidden">Search</label> <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." placeholder="Enter the terms you wish to search for" data-drupal-selector="edit-keys" type="search" id="edit-keys--2" name="keys" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" class="form-search" /> </div> <div data-drupal-selector="edit-actions" class="form-actions js-form-wrapper form-wrapper" id="edit-actions--2"><input data-drupal-selector="edit-submit" type="submit" id="edit-submit--2" value="Go" class="button js-form-submit form-submit" /> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="views-element-container block block--views block--region-footer-third block--views-block:mg-popular-tags-block-1" id="block-themag-st-views-block-mg-popular-tags-block-1-2"> <h2 class="block__title"> <span class="title-text">Tags</span> </h2> <div class="block__content"><div><div class="tag-list view view-mg-popular-tags view-id-mg_popular_tags view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-4953f299684ca9f935a79e5b16268d2c565a23f28b29ecc42105e0914cd593c5"> <div class="view-content"> <div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><div class="views-field views-field-name"><span class="field-content"><a href="/en/tag/data-sources" hreflang="en">Data sources</a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-name"><span class="field-content"><a href="/en/tag/perfile-de-pais" hreflang="en">Perfile de país</a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-name"><span class="field-content"><a href="/en/tag/bibliography" hreflang="en">Bibliography</a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-name"><span class="field-content"><a href="/en/tag/recommended-resources" hreflang="en">Recommended resources</a></span></div></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footer-bottom-wrapper"> <div class="container"> <div class="row align-items-center justify-content-between py-4"> <div class="col-12 col-lg-auto flex-last flex-lg-unordered text-center text-lg-left"> <div class="region region-footer-bottom-first"> <div id="block-themag-st-copyrightnotice-2" class="block block--block-content block--region-footer-bottom-first block--block-content:b53fdcd3-00e9-4c33-bcd1-c7e58557ef43"> <div class="block__content"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Health in the Americas+ © 2021 Pan American Health Organization. All rights reserved.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-auto flex-first flex-lg-unordered text-center text-lg-left"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <script type="application/json" data-drupal-selector="drupal-settings-json">{"path":{"baseUrl":"\/","pathPrefix":"en\/","currentPath":"node\/312","currentPathIsAdmin":false,"isFront":false,"currentLanguage":"en"},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"google_analytics":{"account":"UA-107047084-1","trackOutbound":true,"trackMailto":true,"trackTel":true,"trackDownload":true,"trackDownloadExtensions":"7z|aac|arc|arj|asf|asx|avi|bin|csv|doc(x|m)?|dot(x|m)?|exe|flv|gif|gz|gzip|hqx|jar|jpe?g|js|mp(2|3|4|e?g)|mov(ie)?|msi|msp|pdf|phps|png|ppt(x|m)?|pot(x|m)?|pps(x|m)?|ppam|sld(x|m)?|thmx|qtm?|ra(m|r)?|sea|sit|tar|tgz|torrent|txt|wav|wma|wmv|wpd|xls(x|m|b)?|xlt(x|m)|xlam|xml|z|zip"},"data":{"extlink":{"extTarget":true,"extTargetNoOverride":false,"extNofollow":false,"extNoreferrer":true,"extFollowNoOverride":false,"extClass":"0","extLabel":"(link is external)","extImgClass":false,"extSubdomains":false,"extExclude":"","extInclude":"","extCssExclude":"","extCssExplicit":"","extAlert":false,"extAlertText":"This link will take you to an external web site. We are not responsible for their content.","mailtoClass":"mailto","mailtoLabel":"(link sends email)","extUseFontAwesome":false,"extIconPlacement":"append","extFaLinkClasses":"fa fa-external-link","extFaMailtoClasses":"fa fa-envelope-o","whitelistedDomains":[]}},"theMag":[],"themag":{"header":{"stickyHeader":1}},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"\/en\/search\/node":true},"statistics":{"data":{"nid":"312"},"url":"\/core\/modules\/statistics\/statistics.php"},"csp":{"nonce":"F_k4bqxYO6gmQU225vzVXw"},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"82910a1d800e8ce92eb017d0cb9b61c1b0a0a1a7a6ea4a1160dc246a50673578"}}</script> <script src="/core/assets/vendor/jquery/jquery.min.js?v=3.7.1"></script> <script src="/core/assets/vendor/once/once.min.js?v=1.0.1"></script> <script src="/core/misc/drupalSettingsLoader.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/core/misc/drupal.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/core/misc/drupal.init.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/modules/contrib/google_analytics/js/google_analytics.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/themes/charm/vendor/parallax.js/parallax.min.js?v=1.5.0"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/themes/charm/vendor/sidr/dist/jquery.sidr.min.js?v=2.2.1"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/sidr-off-canvas-main-menu.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/drupal-tabs.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/utilities-background.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.14.3/umd/popper.min.js"></script> <script src="//stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script> <script src="/modules/contrib/extlink/extlink.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/sticky-header.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/themes/charm/vendor/sticky-kit/dist/sticky-kit.js?v=1.1.3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/sticky-sidebars.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/toggle-search-block.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/themes/charm/js/smooth-scroll.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/back-to-top-button.js?smyqy3"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag_st/assets/js/custom.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/core/modules/statistics/statistics.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/modules/custom/themag_layouts/assets/js/sticky-kit.min.js?v=1.1.3"></script> <script src="/modules/custom/themag_layouts/assets/js/sticky-columns.js?v=10.3.8"></script> <script src="/modules/contrib/we_megamenu/assets/js/we_mobile_menu.js?v=1"></script> <script src="/modules/contrib/we_megamenu/assets/js/we_megamenu_frontend.js?v=1"></script> <script src="/themes/custom/themag/assets/js/we-megamenu.js?smyqy3"></script> </body> </html>