Media Center

Press Release

LIVE OAS PROGRAM EXAMINES PAHO’S ROLE IN CENTENARY:

HEALTH CONCERNS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is celebrating its centennial in 2002. PAHO is the world’s oldest international public health agency. Its achievements in public health have been made possible with the collaboration of all the countries and peoples of the Western Hemisphere.


The Organization of American States (OAS) is collaborating with PAHO to mark this milestone with, among other things, a special edition on March 12, 2002 of its live discussion program “Despejando Dudas/Today in the Americas,” a regular series of the OAS Department of Public Information.


This edition of Despejando Dudas/Today in the Americas will look at PAHO's successes and major concerns that have arisen since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent mailings of anthrax-laced letters. The reaction to these events served as a wake-up call and exposed some of the weaknesses of public health systems. To discuss these concerns, the following areas are suggested as topics:



· New diseases and re-emergence of old diseases (AIDS, tuberculosis, etc.): implications for public health

· Vaccination successes: smallpox and polio have been eradicated. Can measles be next?

· Bio-terrorism issues: How could we handle a smallpox outbreak? What about anthrax? What is syndromic surveillance and how can that help us prepare?

· Disaster preparedness: How PAHO is training country staff to deal with biological, chemical and radiological incidents, in addition to earthquakes and other natural disasters.

· Reinforcement of basic public health structures in light of newly gained information

· Providing access to healthcare for more people. We still have millions without health coverage and in poverty, and the health sector is under-funded. What can we do?



The panelists are:

· Dr. David Brandling-Bennett, Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization

· Mr. Matthew Chico, Director, Americas Region, International Services, American Red Cross

· Dr. Marjorie Pollack, Consultant Medical Epidemiologist and Medical Epidemiology and Surveillance Moderator, ProMED-mail, an internet-based early warning system to follow emerging infectious disease

· Moderator: Elmer Huerta, MD, MPH, Director Cancer Preventorium, Washington Hospital Center



The program will be 1 hour in length with no breaks and will be broadcast from the studios of the Organization of American States, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. The program will be webcast live from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on March 12, 2002 (at www.oas.org. click on webcast).

Members of the media are invited to cover this event.



For further information, please contact:

Gabriel Gross, Producer, OAS/DPI 202 458-3752 or by email at [email protected].
Lucrecia Baracat, Information Specialist, OAS/DPI, (202) 458-6824, email lbaracat@oas,org
Louise Stern Harkavy, Centennial Advisor, PAHO Office of Public Information, (202) 974-3472, email [email protected]

Reference: E-041/02