A new survey conducted by PAHO and WHO shows that countries are falling short in implementing mental health services at a time when mental health support is paramount, according to PAHO Assistant Director, Jarbas Barbosa. In a press briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic today, Dr. Barbosa said, “Data from 29 countries show that while 27 of them have integrated mental health into their COVID-19 plans, only two are adequately funded.”

More than 70 million migrants living across international borders in the Region of the Americas are set to benefit from a joint agreement signed today by Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and António Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Transmission of COVID19 in the Americas remains very active, with some countries suffering recurrent spikes in cases and the virus spreading in new and different ways, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F Etienne, said today. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.

Health systems in the Americas are not adequately responding to the needs of older adults and must be adapted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, say experts at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). For the International Day of Older Persons on October 1, the organization is calling for comprehensive, person-centered, integrated care and primary health services that are responsive to older people´s needs. 

Reopening societies before health systems are ready “would risk a handful of cases in one area becoming a full-blown outbreak,” PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said today. “As leaders across the world face pressure to resume social and public life, it’s important that they avoid making decisions in a vacuum. Data about the virus’s spread and the state of health systems and services must guide each country’s plans to reopen, including the mix of preventive measures that should remain in place to keep people safe,” she told a media briefing today.

The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, said “Action is required at all levels” from local communities to national levels, and from regional to global levels to combat a triple crisis in the Region: a health crisis, a social crisis and an economic crisis. “It is only through concerted and collective action that we will address COVID-19, suppress its transmission and recover onto the path of sustainable development,” Etienne told a Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) conference yesterday.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today warned that the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate suicide risk factors, urging people to speak about the issue in an open and responsible manner, remain connected even during physical distancing, and learn to identify warning signs to prevent it.

Coronavirus is affecting the mental health of many people. Data from recent studies show an increase in distress, anxiety and depression, particular among health care workers. These, in addition to violence, alcohol use disorders, substance abuse, and feelings of loss, are important factors that can increase a person's risk of deciding to take their own lives.

Gracias a gestiones realizadas por el Gobierno del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) hizo llegar al país en las últimas horas 46 toneladas de ayuda humanitaria compuesta de insumos para Equipos de Protección Personal, valorados en 1,8 millón de dólares, destinada a los profesionales de la salud que en este momento están en primera línea de atención de casos de COVID-19 en el país.

A new joint report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reveals that economies of the Region will only be reactivated if the curve of contagion of the COVID-19 pandemic is flattened. The report proposes a three-phase approach that includes the adoption of health, economic, social and productive policies that aim to control and mitigate the effects of the pandemic, reactivation with protection, and rebuilding in a sustainable and inclusive way. 

The supplies were procured via the UN Supply Portal and the PAHO Strategic Fund, which facilitates procurement of diagnostics, ventilators, and PPE for the COVID-19 response. This initiative is the result of several weeks of collaborative coordination between PAHO/WHO, the World Food Programme, the Government of Canada and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), which has developed an initiative to assist with the short-term establishment and operation of a new integrated Regional Logistics Hub for the COVID-19 response based in Barbados.

Certain underlying, chronic conditions like diabetes, kidney disease and hypertension, as well as infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, or immunosuppression, place people at increased risk for more severe COVID-19 disease.

“Unfortunately, many of these medical conditions are widespread in the Americas, which leaves

In a joint statement, COICA and PAHO ask countries to “strengthen health care services in the Amazon through the provision of human resources, supplies and medical devices, including tests, as well as through treatments and vaccines when they are available. The statement places emphasis on those populations living in voluntary isolation.

COICA includes indigenous organizations from the Peruvian jungle, eastern Bolivia, the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Colombian Amazon, and the Brazilian Amazon.

“Timing is critical. At national or at local level, we must open gradually, taking a phased approach that relies on robust surveillance, data, and expanded testing and contact tracing capacity.  If the situation changes and infections rise, localities and countries must adjust course quickly" Carissa Etienne said.

The contribution of USD$5.3 million will benefit a total of fifteen Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago. Overall, the collaboration will support increased access to Personal Protective Equipment and other critical supplies to assist countries in their efforts to save lives and limit the human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 Pandemic, focusing on populations experiencing marginalization or vulnerability, including health care workers.

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC) and USAID recently assisted the government of Antigua and Barbuda in their fight against COVID-19.

Additionally, as we enter the Hurricane season, the vehicle will also be able to support and respond to other health emergencies and support disease surveillance activities of any new or existing health challenges.

PAHO’s director Carissa Etienne said countries must adjust and coordinate their COVID-19 response based on increasingly detailed data. “Governments will have to make decisions, considering simultaneously health, economic, and social indicators. This will allow health officials to understand where transmission is accelerating, and which groups are at greater risk so as to better target their efforts,” she added.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, and the related school closures, we have seen a rise in violence and hate online – and this includes bullying. Now, as schools begin to re-open, children are expressing their fears about going back to school,” said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that schools are safe environments for all children. We need to think and act collectively to stop violence at school and in our societies at large.”

A total of 18 countries interrupted services partially and two closed them completely, according to a PAHO survey. Countries have been urged to implement innovative and strategies and measures to ensure safe care during the pandemic.