• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 1, 2Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage Strategy (Universal Health)
WHO/PAHO led the development and negotiation of a landmark strategy on Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage in 2014, with the adoption of the corresponding Regional Strategy during the 53rd PAHO Directing Council. Subsequently, major efforts have been made to foster an institutional response to support the implementation of that Strategy in the Region.
Recognizing that there are many ways to achieve universal health and that each country will need to establish its own action plan, taking into account its social, economic, political, legal, historical and cultural context, as well as its priorities and current and future health challenges, PAHO is working with Member States and other partners to guide, as appropriate, the strengthening of their health systems with a view to achieving universal health.
Areas of focus for the PAHO’s work during 2016-2017 included the development of national roadmaps towards Universal Health that expand access to services through primary care within integrated health service delivery networks; the development of comprehensive financing strategies in countries; the realignment of policies on human resources for health that meet the existing needs of health systems and services; and access to safe, efficacious and quality medicines and health technologies, according to the health needs of the population.
Activities:
• In line with the technical cooperation provided by PAHO/WHO to assist countries in advancing their implementation of the Universal Health Strategy, three relevant documents were developed and presented to the 53rd PAHO Directing Council in September 2016 on important health policy and systems issues: Resilient Health Systems; Access and rational use to strategic and high cost medicines and other health technologies; and Health of Migrants. These documents were well received by Member States with the adoption of specific resolutions.
• Providing technical support to countries that are either initiating or in the process of major health systems transformations. Integrated missions were organized to Argentina, Guatemala, Guyana, Bolivia, Honduras, Panamá, Suriname, Jamaica, Chile, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Cuba, El Salvador and Colombia in order to support implementation of strategies and support advocacy efforts toward Universal Health.
• Providing technical support to countries in the development of comprehensive financing strategies towards Universal Health, through the following activities:
o Health financing studies were finalized, (fiscal space in five countries; catastrophic and impoverishing health expenditures in the Region of the Americas; and public and private expenditures on pharmaceutical products in the LAC);
o Targeted technical cooperation was provided to Guatemala, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Suriname and Colombia to increase awareness and discuss policy options/interventions to augment fiscal priority for health and improve the efficiency of health financing.
o The first OECD Health Systems Joint Network meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean was co-organized by PAHO, July 2016, including a high level dialogue between senior officials from health and finance ministries to increase awareness on the need to improve governance and co-ordination mechanisms in health financing and identify effective policy choices.
• Providing technical support to Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Peru, Jamaica, and El Salvador, in preparing their health systems profiles and M&E of UH Strategy using PAHO guideline.
• Supporting countries’ efforts to update health-related laws and regulations, including the health code, which will facilitate achieving Universal Health. As a result, 11 countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay) have developed regulatory frameworks for Universal Health.
• Providing technical support to Member States in the development of integrated networks for health care delivery continues to be intensified. A new tool for the assessment of progress towards the development of such networks was developed and tested in five countries. In addition, technical support was delivered to countries on health services organization development issues (policies, legislation, IHSDN, hospital management, strengthening of the first level of care) as part of the implementation of road maps for Universal Health in Guyana.
• In 2016 HSS supported the institutional response to the ZikaV outbreak. HSS reinforced the development of a network of neurologists to support diagnosis and management of congenital malformations, capacity building of HSS country advisors in health systems issues relating to the disease outbreak, the provision and management of IGG for the treatment of GBS patients, and country missions to support health systems preparedness (Bolivia, Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Paraguay, Haiti and Dominican Republic). In addition, an interagency tool has been developed jointly with the IDB and World Bank to assess health systems preparedness and align the response of the three institutions to the outbreak and its consequences.
• The Region continues to work intensively to strengthen the regulatory systems for medicines and other health technologies. The Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) launched its pilot phase and have developed the procedures to register generic priority medicines.
• Proving technical assistance to 32 countries that participated in the external quality evaluation performance for blood services received positive results demonstrating a continuous improvement in blood service in the Americas.
• Since its creation in 2000, the Strategic Fund has contributed to the strengthening and sustainability of health systems, positioning itself as the regional mechanism for the procurement of priority public health medicines. The SF continues to grow with an expanded portfolio of medicines and medical products and the renewed focus on improving supply chain management capacities. These efforts resulted in more than a 15% increase in the volume of orders measured in USD, five new signatory’ Member States and ten Member States applying and accessing the capital account. Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, through a special collaboration project with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), worked on improving supply chain management for HIV medicines.
• A policy document draft on the Regional Strategy on Human Resources for Universal Health to be presented to the 29th Pan American Sanitary Conference was produced. The identification of future priorities for action to support health systems transformation towards Universal Health was also a product of three sub-regional meetings (Central-America, MERCOSUR and Andean Countries) with the participation of seventeen Member States.
• The document “The Situation of Nursing Education in the Latin America and Caribbean towards Universal Health” was completed. In this document twenty countries in the region and 246 Schools of Nursing have participated in the data collection.
• The Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) reached 300,000 participants through the development of massive self-learning courses and progress with country nodes such as Ecuador and Venezuela.
• The Edmundo Granda Ugalde Leaders in International Health Program (LIHP) 2016 concluded with 46 participants from 21 countries.
Beneficiaries: Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Specific examples included under activities.
Partnerships and Financing: AECID, Australia, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brazil, Health Canada, The Kellogg Foundation, USAID and US FDA
Website: www.paho.org/hss
• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 3, 4SDG Goals, are closely related as they fully fall under the scope of the application and implementation of the International Health Regulations.
Brief description of initiative:
PAHO’s programmatic work related to the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) – aiming at preventing, protecting against, controlling and providing a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade – revolve around the following areas:
i. Risk management related to events with potential or actual international public health implications - of biological, chemical, or radiation-related nature - including: early detection through official and unofficial sources; risk assessment, jointly conducted by the PAHO Secretariat and affected States Parties; control of the risk through information sharing, provision of technical advice to States Parties, deployment of response teams to affected States Parties;
ii. Capacity building to enhance the inter-sectoral preparedness of States Parties to respond to acute public health events, including at points of entry and in occasion of mass gatherings events, in the context of health systems strengthening;
iii. Compliance with IHR provisions of more administrative nature: submission of States Parties Annual Reports to the World Health Assembly and PAHO Governing Bodies; presentation of Reports to the PAHO Governing Bodies; update of requirements for the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis as a condition for entry or exit; authorization of ports to issue the Ship Sanitation Certificate; etc.;
iv. Collaborations with other UN Technical Agencies to strengthen a collaborative intersectoral approach both, at national and international levels.
In the context of the reform of WHO work in health emergencies; in September 2016, PAHO established the PAHO Health Emergencies Department (PHE), aiming at ensuring a holistic approach to the management of health emergencies.
Activities:
v. Risk management: Annually, approximately 100 acute events with potential international public health implications are detected and jointly assessed by PAHO and States Parties. Over the past two years, efforts were focused on the management of vector borne diseases outbreaks, including with long term consequences, such as: Zika virus diseases, also determined to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the IHR; chikungunya; yellow fever. The management of ZIka virus disease and yellow fever required the activation of the Incident Management System as well as the coordination of the deployment of field response teams;
vi. Capacity building: PAHO is supporting preparedness efforts its Member States through country specific activities as well as sub-regional and regional activities. Technical areas tackled through those activities include: strengthening of the National IHR Focal Points; epidemiological surveillance (event-based and indicator-based); strengthening of preparedness at points of entry (airports, ports, and ground crossings); strengthening of laboratory capacity (diagnostic and quality management); preparedness for and delivery of mass gatherings events (Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2016; APEC Summit, Peru, 2016; 35th America’s Cup, Bermuda, 2017);
vii. Compliance with IHR provisions: States Parties Annual Reports submitted to the World Health Assemblies between 2011 and 2016 showed steady improvements at the regional level in all core capacities. However, the status of the core capacities across the subregions continues to be heterogeneous, with the lowest scores consistently registered in the Caribbean subregion. When the States Parties Annual Reports in their current format were instituted for reporting to the Sixty-fourth World Health Assembly in 2011, the response rate was 51% (18 of 35 States Parties); in 2016, for the first time, the response rate was 100%, with all 35 States Parties in the Americas reporting to the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly. Signaling an increased ownership of the IHR, in occasion of the 55th PAHO Directing Council in 2016, PAHO Member States adopted Decision CD55(D5) “Implementation of the International Health Regulations”, related to Document CD55/12, Rev. 1, that extensively addresses States Parties’ recommendations for the future application and implementation of the IHR in the Region. Approximately 500 ports have been authorized by States Parties in the Region to issue Ship Sanitation Certificates;
viii. PAHO is closely collaborating with the following UN Technical Agencies at national, sub-regional, and regional level, including through the organization of joint activities for in-country capacity building: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the annual regional, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Beneficiaries: 35 States Parties to the International Health Regulations in the Region of the Americas, and overseas territories of France, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom geographically located in the Americas.
Partnerships and Financing: Government of Brazil, Government of Canada, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States.
Website: http://www2.paho.org/hq/; http://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en; http://www2.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1239&Itemid=2291; http://www2.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11585&Itemid=41688&lang=en; http://www2.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_topics&view=article&id=343&Itemid=40931&lang=en; http://www2.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_topics&view=article&id=69&Itemid=40784&lang=en;
• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 7Implementation of UN strategic plans on nutrition: WHO comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, PAHO/WHO plan of action for the prevention of obesity in children and adolescents and the UN decade of action on nutrition (2016-2025).
PAHO has been providing technical support to implement countries to implement the WHO comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, PAHO/WHO plan of action for the prevention of obesity in children and adolescents and the UN decade of action on nutrition (2016-2025). All of them encourage multi sectorial action involving public and non-governmental sectors.
PAHO, in coordination with FAO, UNICEF, World Bank, INCAP, CARPHA, COMISCA, MERCOSUR, CARICOM, and IBFAN, is providing technical cooperation on programs and policies to prevent malnutrition in all its forms, including:
- breastfeeding protection, promotion and support,
- improvement of school food environment,
- implementation of fiscal policies, regulation of food marketing and front of package labeling,
- promotion of physical activity,
- reduction of salt consumption, and,
- promotion of family farming and locally sourced foods, and
- the development of guidelines to implement sustainable food systems to end all forms of malnutrition.
Furthermore, PAHO (NMH and LEG departments) is working with parliamentary networks in the Americas, such as "Frente Parlamentario contra el Hambre de América Latina y Caribe", and a parliamentary network on early child development (currently in the process of defining the structure and functioning) to include nutrition actions as part of early child development policies as well as to end hunger and food insecurity.
Beneficiaries: Member States in the region to address NCDs, policy-makers and legislators in the Region of the Americas.
Partnerships and Financing: FAO, UNICEF, World Bank, INCAP, CARPHA, COMISCA, MERCOSUR, CARICOM, IBFAN
• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 5Inter American Task Force on NCDs (IATF on NCDs)
: In recognition of the enormous social and economic burden posed by noncommunicable diseases,responsible for 80% of all deaths in the Americas and the political commitments declared for NCDs in the Declaration of Port of Spain during the Fifth Summit of the Americas, in 2009, the United Nations High Level Meeting on NCD Prevention and Control, in 2011, as well as the endorsement of a regional NCD Plan of Action by the ministers of health of the region in 2013 and call for the establishment of an Inter-American Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) at the Seventh Summit of the Americas in April 2015, led by PAHO, that complements the United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, the Inter-American Task Force on NCDs was officially launched on 17 June 2015. Its aim is that of promoting intersectoral work and coordinating activities within the Inter-American system, and associated international institutions and agencies, towards the achievement of the PAHO Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Americas 2013-2019. Through this alliance the Task Force will leverage expertise and resources within the Region to improve technical cooperation on NCDs and their risk factors. The global and regional goals and targets for NCDs can only be achieved through coordinated multisectoral action. The Inter-American Task Force on NCDs is a regional expression of collaboration across leading institutions of the Inter American System and will support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with policy advice, technical assistance, resource mobilization and capacity building in order to reduce premature mortality from NCDs. The Task Force aims to stimulate a coordinated and harmonized response across the region to achieve the goals of the PAHO Regional Action Plan for NCDs. Efforts will also be made to coordinate and synergize the Task Force’s work with the regional UN agencies as it relates to the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs.
Specifically, the objectives of the Task Force for the period 2015-2019 are to:
1. Seek synergies among the participating agencies and the relevant activities and strategies to support Member States in implementing actions to prevent and control NCDs;
2. Enhance harmonization of interagency efforts to strengthen the national capacities for NCD policies and programs, within the mandates of the individual agencies of the Task Force, and support the integrated implementation of plans and actions to prevent and control NCDs in the Americas;
3. Facilitate the optimal deployment of resources, collaboration, networking and exchange of information among the organizations of the Inter-American system and associated international institutions and agencies to support Member States in the prevention and control of NCDs; and
4. Coordinate with the multi-sector NCD actions of related UN, WHO and PAHO initiatives, including the UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs, the WHO Global Action Plan on NCDs, and the achievement of the NCD-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ensure complementarity of purpose and optimal use of resources.
The duration of this Task Force is aligned with the timeframe of the Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Americas, which is until December 2019.
Activities:
• IATF on NCDs launched (June 17th 2015, OAS headquarters, Washington, D.C.). More info here
• IATF / Mapping exercise/inventory of agency multi-sector actions on NCDs and identification of potential areas of synergy, gaps, collaboration and potential country collaborations (finalized in June 2016)
• Side event organized at the OAS Ministerial meeting on social inclusion. “Social inclusion and health in all policies: a multisectoral approach”: (Paraguay, July 2016)
• 5 bilateral meetings PAHO - IATF members to exchange information, and coordinate activities and projects at the national level (April - May 2017)
• Meeting at PAHO with all IATF members (scheduled for May 2017) with regards NCD and RF mandates.
• Task force communication activities (website, joint messaging, sharing information platform) (to be developed in May- August 2017)
Beneficiaries: To support Member States in the region to address NCDs, through multi-sector approaches. Given the urgent need for a multi-sector response to the NCD burden, and to engage with relevant government sectors beyond health the work of this Task Force will benefit the efforts of Member States to reduce the burden of NCDs and Risf Factors related and strengthen multisectoral collaboration.
Participating agencies include: the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that serves as a Secretariat, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the World Bank. Funding for the activities emerging from the work of the Task Force, including participation in meetings, are covered by the existing budget for health related programs within the organizations of the Inter-American system and associated international organizations and agencies.
• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 81. Sub-regional integration mechanisms advanced with adolescent pregnancy strategies in Member States.
2. Eight Ministries of Health signed a high level political resolution committing to incorporate health inequality on Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) measurement and monitoring into existing national strategic information systems during 2017.
3. Interpretation and implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health in the context of the Americas in the context of the Americas.
Activities:
1. A joint review and planning meeting, based on COMISCA and ORAS/CONHU integration mechanisms, was organized with PAHO support. A joint framework to address adolescent pregnancy in Southern Cone countries was also developed.
2. A regional report on Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) inequalities in LAC was finalized and launched, and support was provided to eight countries in Central America and the Dominican Republic to finalize and present a set of national MCAH inequality profiles.
3. Attain regional and national analysis of the Global Strategy in the context of the Americas, a set of inter-sectorial recommendations for improving regional and national collaboration in women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and regional and national commitment towards implementing of the Global Strategy in the context of the Americas.
Activities:
3. Implementation of three of sub-regional inter-sectorial consultations (May and June 2017).
High-Level Inter-Sectorial Summit in Chile, July 3, 2017.
• Fecha: 20/04/2017 Párrafos: 6Access to potable water and sanitation
In the Region of the Americas, access to quality sanitation and water services remains a critical situation. Data published by the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation (2015) show that, despite widely varying progress among countries, Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed the MDG targets for drinking water, but not for sanitation. The Region has expanded water services by 94.6% and sanitation by 83.1%. This progress, however, is insufficient. Six of our countries still have not achieved the MDG targets for drinking water and 10 countries have not reached the targets for sanitation. In addition, 34 million people in Latin American and the Caribbean still lack access to an improved water source, 21 million of them in rural areas. Regarding sanitation, the figures are even more staggering: 106 million people lack access to improved sanitation, 41 million of them in rural areas, including 18.5 million who continue to practice open defecation. This situation puts the population at risk of contracting diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, and polio.
Activities:
The main activities implemented in this area include the following:
1) Implementation of the cholera action plan in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector;
2) Strengthening of a regional team for rapid response to water-borne outbreaks and assessments of country capacities in WASH;
3) Development and application of the methodology for Water Security Plans (WSP) and Sanitation Security Plans (SSP) in the countries, with an emphasis on national norms and policies;
4) Implementation of a cross-sectoral approach to the social and environmental determinants of health at the local, national and regional levels;
5) Promotion of decision-making through the systemic approach on risk management through the WSPs and SSPs for reducing the burden of diseases related to water and sanitation.
Beneficiaries: Latin American countries
Partnerships and Financing: Government of Peru, Global Affairs Canada
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 08/06/2016 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 20/10/2015 Párrafos: -Initiative: Access to potable water and sanitation
In Latin America, 93% of the population have access to improved drinking water sources and 80% have access to improved sanitation. However, these statistics do not reflect the quality of water or the disparities in gender, income, and race which affect access to water sources and sanitation. In fact, a high proportion of the Region’s population still lives in conditions that do not meet the minimum standard necessary for fulfillment of the right to life and well-being. Current public policies have brought
progress, but there remain significant gaps between levels of access for different sectors of the population.
Activities: The main activities implemented in this area include the following:
1) Implementation of the cholera action plan in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector;
2) Strengthening of a regional team for rapid response to water-borne outbreaks and assessments of country capacities in WASH;
3) Development and application of the methodology for Water Security Plans (WSP) and Sanitation Security Plans (SSP) in the countries, with an emphasis on national norms and policies;
4) Implementation of a cross-sectoral approach to the social and environmental determinants of health at the local, national and regional levels;
5) Promotion of decision-making through the systemic approach on risk management through the WSPs and SSPs for reducing the burden of diseases related to water and sanitation.
Website: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5172&Itemid=40085&lang=en
Beneficiaries: Latin American countries
Partnerships and Financing: Government of Peru, Government of Spain
• Fecha: 20/10/2015 Párrafos: -Initiative: Preparedness and response capacities to confront emerging epidemic diseases
The sudden emergence of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in 2014 called attention to the severe and ongoing global threat of emerging infectious diseases and forced governments to re-assess their preparedness and response capacities. In the Americas, many countries remain vulnerable to the possible spread of infectious disease, such as Chikungunya and cholera, particularly those countries that have not fully achieved the core capacities defined by International Health Regulations (IHR). The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) continues to lead Emergency Preparedness, Readiness and Response actions in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Activities: “The Framework for Strengthening National Preparedness and Response for Ebola Virus Disease in the Americas” was finalized and disseminated among countries with the following objectives: 1) to characterize the capacity of the countries to respond to emerging or re-emerging infectious disease hazard; 2) to support countries in addressing and bridging gaps identified; and 3) to define a joint technical cooperation work plan to support national preparedness efforts for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Within the context of this Framework, the following activities have taken place to ensure an adequate level of preparedness and response capacity in the LAC as a step toward achieving and maintaining IHR core capacities.
1) Ongoing dialogue with Heads of States, Ministries of Health and other sectors of LAC countries to undertake all necessary actions to mitigate risks and prepare the region for the potential introduction of emerging infectious diseases.
2) Technical missions conducted to 27 LAC countries, in collaboration with experts from partner agencies, to generate recommendations for strengthening areas in need of improvement.
3) Development of technical guidelines and targeted multi-country training workshops for government designated officials and expert consultations on clinical management, infection prevention and control, laboratory diagnostic, rapid response and contact tracing, and risk communication were conducted.
4) Establishment of a regional Stockpile of Personal Protective Equipment, with access to other needed supplies.
Website: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10137&Itemid=41116
Beneficiaries: Latin American and Caribbean countries (PAHO Member States)
Partnerships and Financing: PAHO Director, PAHO’s Pandemic Epidemic Emergency Fund, Government of Brazil
• Fecha: 14/10/2015 Párrafos: -Initiative: What is PAHO doing to support the implementation of the Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage Strategy?
The Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage was adopted by Member States of the Region in October 2014 (CD53.R14) which addresses inequities in access to health systems and services that prevent people from enjoying optimal health.
Universal access is the absence of geographical, economic, sociocultural, organizational, or gender barriers that prevent all people from having equitable use of comprehensive health services and healthy living to allow their development and well-being. Universal coverage means that there are organizational and financing mechanisms to cover the entire population.
Recognizing that there are many ways to achieve universal health and that each country will need to establish its own action plan, taking into account its social, economic, political, legal, historical and cultural context, as well as its priorities and current and future health challenges, PAHO is working with Member States and other partners to guide, as appropriate, the strengthening of their health systems with a view to achieving universal health.
Activities:
1. Providing technical support for the development and or implementation of national plans (road maps) to strengthen or transform the health systems toward universal health. PAHO missions and direct technical cooperation ongoing in Bahamas, Chile, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru since the approval of the Strategy in October 2014.
2. Carrying out advocacy with governments, and other sectors:
-Meeting of PAHO/WHO and World Bank in Chile (May 2015) to review new tool for countries to monitor and evaluate progress towards universal health. The tool is being piloted in Chile, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
- PAHO presence on discussions within the economic and financing sectors including IMF/World Bank Governors Meetings in Lima, Peru (October 2015).
- High level forum with Ministers of Finance and other financial institutions to take place in December 2015, Universal Health Day.
- Working with MERCOSUR, UNASUR and SICA around access to medicines in health systems and with CARICOM / CARPHA on the development of the Caribbean Regulatory Systems for Medicines and Health Technologies.
3. Reinforcing capacity building on management of health services, financing and health economics, governance and stewardship.
4. Ensuring linkages between the movements towards universal health and regional movement to strengthening non communicable diseases and health in all policies.
5. Building the evidence base for universal health:
- Launch of the Lancet Series on Universal Health Coverage in Latin America in English (October 2014) and Spanish, MEDICC edition (May 2015)
- A joint World Bank and PAHO publication "Toward Universal Health Coverage and Equity in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from Selected Countries" (June 2015).
- 7 health financing efficiency studies from Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, and Peru (ongoing).
- 15 countries receiving support to produce health accounts.
- Situation analysis of health financing in OECS countries in collaboration with the University of West Indies.
6. Facilitating triangular cooperation and sharing knowledge and experiences on:
- Social security mechanisms (Costa Rica and Panama)
- Health financing service networks (Panama- Spain and Panama-Uruguay)
7. Improving availability, quality and affordability to medicines thru the Strategic Fund including the strengthening of regulatory systems at the national and sub- regional level, and support in the evaluation and incorporation of health technologies within health systems in Member States. Seven countries (Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Suriname and Uruguay) reported having laws that require some use of health technology assessment in decision processes. (CD54/INF/5-F)
8. Facilitating discussions to define the strategic orientations and content that will guide Human Resources for Health Post-2015 Agenda for the Region of the Americas within two contexts: (1) the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources and (2) the Strategy of Universal Access and Universal Health Coverage approved (CD53.R14).
Beneficiaries: Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Specific examples included under activities.
Partnerships and Financing: PAHO, WHO, World Bank, IDB, Ministries of Health from LAC.
• Fecha: 14/10/2015 Párrafos: -Initiative: Inter-American Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases
The Inter-American Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), was officially launched on 17 June 2015, with the aim of promoting intersectoral work and coordinating activities within the Inter-American system, and associated international institutions and agencies, towards the achievement of the PAHO Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Americas 2013-2019. Through this alliance the Task Force will leverage expertise and resources within the Region to improve technical cooperation on NCDs and their risk factors.
The global and regional goals and targets for NCDs can only be achieved through coordinated multisectoral action. The Inter-American Task Force on NCDs is a regional expression of collaboration across leading institutions of the Inter American System and will support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with policy advice, technical assistance, resource mobilization and capacity building in order to reduce premature mortality from NCDs. This working group aims to stimulate a coordinated and harmonized response across the region to achieve the goals of the PAHO Regional Action Plan for NCDs. Efforts will also be made to coordinate and synergize the Task Force’s work with the regional UN agencies as it relates to the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs.
Activities: Specifically, the objectives of the Task Force for the period 2015-2019 are to:
1. Seek synergies among the participating agencies and the relevant activities and strategies to support Member States in implementing actions to prevent and control NCDs;
2. Enhance harmonization of interagency efforts to strengthen the national capacities for NCD policies and programs, within the mandates of the individual agencies of the Task Force, and support the integrated implementation of plans and actions to prevent and control NCDs in the Americas;
3. Facilitate the optimal deployment of resources, collaboration, networking and exchange of information among the organizations of the Inter-American system and associated international institutions and agencies to support Member States in the prevention and control of NCDs; and
4. Coordinate with the multi-sector NCD actions of related UN, WHO and PAHO initiatives, including the UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs, the WHO Global Action Plan on NCDs, and the achievement of the NCD-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ensure complementarity of purpose and optimal use of resources.
Since the official launch of the Task Force in June 2015, the participating agencies met and agreed to refine objectives and to develop the Task Force Work Plan (2015-2019) that specifies milestones, results and accountability frameworks to guide the work going forward.
The agreed priority areas are:
• Tobacco control (including taxation, warning labels, smoke free places, regulations for sponsorship, advertising and marketing);
• Prevention of childhood/adolescent obesity (including taxation, promotion of physical activity, regulatory actions, education, communication and health promotion, promotion of healthy food baskets); and
• Cardiovascular disease and hypertension prevention and control (including salt reduction, diet, physical activity, blood pressure medication).
Participating agencies also developed a list of activities to be accomplished in the first year (2015-2016). These activities will be ratified by participating agencies during a follow up meeting in November 2015. These include:
1) A mapping exercise/inventory of agency multi-sector actions on NCDs and identification of potential areas of synergy, gaps, collaboration and potential country collaborations;
2) Hosting of a regional meeting on multi-sector approaches for NCDs in 2016;
3) Integrating NCDs into the “Third Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Social Development of the OAS” in Paraguay in 2016;
4) Collecting and disseminating country data on health expenditure projections due to aging/NCDs;
5) Implementing Task Force communications activities (website, joint messaging, information sharing platform).
Website: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11134&Itemid=41578&lang=en
Beneficiaries: To support Member States in the region to address NCDs, through multi-sector approaches.
Partnerships and Financing: Participating agencies include: the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that serves as a Secretariat, the Organization of American States (OAS), including the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) and the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation Agriculture (IICA), the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the World Bank.
• Fecha: 14/10/2015 Párrafos: -Initiative: PLAN OF ACTION ON WORKERS' HEALTH /SDE
The Plan of Action on Workers’ Health aims to address the current situation resulting from the changes caused by the world of work, and also responds to the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health 2008-2017, endorsed by the WHA in 2008. The purpose is to reduce injuries, diseases and death at work; and, noncommunicable diseases in certain critical economic sectors.
To achieve this access to health and universal health coverage and the social determinants related to workers’ health is required, and actions have been taken to meet these goals.
Activities: 1- Training of PHC personnel in Member States with a basic curriculum on Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing, addressing basic activities and interventions for low income and informal workers.
2-Providing comprehensive health services and registration of health surveillance programs for populations aged 18 to 65 years, to detect occupational risks and NCD in early stages.
3- Contributions were made for building the WHO guidelines to protect HCW against Ebola in West Africa with two collaborating centers in OH (University of Maryland & University of British Columbia).
4- Initiative to protect health of health care workers by means of training, surveillance systems for blood-borne diseases (HBV,HIV), and occupational safety and health measures in health institutions.
5- Fund raising and mobilization
Website: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10763&Itemid=41401&lang=en&limitstart=1
Beneficiaries: Working populations of Member States (Approximately 490 million workers)
Partnerships and Financing: WHO, ILO, OAS, PAHO and the network of Collaborating Centers in Occupational health
• Fecha: 02/05/2013 Párrafos: 15Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 02/05/2013 Párrafos: 17Iniciativa: Estrategia y Plan de Acción Regionales sobre la Salud del Recién Nacido.
El Plan de acción estratégico regional se basa en el Consenso Estratégico Interinstitucional para la Reducción
de la Mortalidad y la Morbilidad Perinatal y Neonatal en América Latina y el Caribe. Recoge el compromiso de los gobiernos de la Región para ocho años (2008-2015), de forma que orienten sus actividades en respuesta a ese compromiso y sobre la base de la siguiente visión:
Todas las madres, los recién nacidos y niños en los países de América Latina y el Caribe recibirán la atención de
calidad apropiada y eficaz que necesitan para llevar una vida saludable y productiva. Así se tornará realidad el ODM-4.
Actividades:
Este Plan de Acción abarca cuatro áreas estratégicas interdependientes: 1) crear un entorno favorable para la
promoción de la salud peri-neonatal; 2) fortalecer los sistemas de salud para mejorar el acceso a los servicios de atención de la madre, del recién nacido y del niño; 3) promover las intervenciones comunitarias; y 4) crear y fortalecer los sistemas de seguimiento y evaluación. Cada área cuenta con una o más líneas de acción, y cada línea de acción a su vez tiene un objetivo que representa un resultado a ser alcanzado.
Beneficiarios: Madres embarazadas y recién nacidos de América Latina y el Caribe
Socios: Ministerios de Salud, Grupo Interagencial (UNICEF,UNFPA, World Bank, USAID)
• Fecha: 05/11/2012 Párrafos: 38Iniciativa: Estrategia y Plan de Acción sobre eSalud
El propósito de la Estrategia y Plan de acción sobre eSalud (2012-2017) es contribuir al desarrollo sostenible de los sistemas de salud de los Estados Miembros, incluida la salud pública veterinaria. Con su adopción se busca mejorar el acceso a los servicios de salud y su calidad, gracias a la utilización de las tecnologías de la información y de las comunicaciones (TIC), la formación en alfabetización digital y TIC, el acceso a información basada en pruebas científicas y formación continua y la implementación de diversos métodos, permite avanzar hacia sociedades más informadas, equitativas, competitivas y democráticas. En este tipo de sociedades, el acceso a la información sobre salud es un derecho fundamental de las personas.
Actividades:
•Registro médico electrónico (o historia clínica electrónica): es el registro en formato electrónico de información sobre la salud de cada paciente que puede ayudar a los profesionales de salud en la toma de decisiones y el tratamiento.
•Telesalud (incluida la telemedicina): consiste en la prestación de servicios de salud utilizando las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, especialmente donde la distancia es una barrera para recibir atención de salud.
• Salud (o salud por dispositivos móviles): es un término empleado para designar el ejercicio de la medicina y la salud pública con apoyo de los dispositivos móviles, como teléfonos móviles, dispositivos de monitoreo de pacientes y otros dispositivos inalámbricos.
•eLearning (incluida la formación o aprendizaje a distancia): consiste en la aplicación de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación al aprendizaje. Puede utilizarse para mejorar la calidad de la educación, aumentar el acceso a la educación y crear formas nuevas e innovadoras de enseñanza al alcance de un mayor número de personas.
•Educación continua en tecnologías de la información y la comunicación: desarrollo de cursos o programas de salud profesionales (no necesariamente acreditados formalmente) que facilitan habilidades en tecnologías de la información y la comunicación de aplicación en la salud. Esto incluye los métodos actuales para el intercambio de conocimiento científico como la publicación electrónica, el acceso abierto, la alfabetización digital y el uso de las redes sociales.
•Estandarización e interoperabilidad: la interoperabilidad hace referencia a la comunicación entre diferentes tecnologías y aplicaciones de software para el intercambio y uso de datos en forma eficaz, precisa y sólida. Esto requiere del uso de estándares, es decir, de normas, regulaciones, guías o definiciones con especificaciones técnicas para hacer viable la gestión integrada de los sistemas de salud en todos los niveles.
Beneficiados:
Sistemas y Servicios de Salud de los países de América y el Caribe. Poblaciones en lugares remotos con limitaciones de acceso a servicios de salud.
Alianzas:
Ministerios de Salud, Instituciones Académicas
AECID
• Fecha: 05/11/2012 Párrafos: -Información disponible en inglés
• Fecha: 23/06/2011 Párrafos: 27La OPS lanzó “Iniciativa de Maternidad Segura en las Américas” la cual se constituye en un llamado para redoblar los esfuerzos en logro del párrafo 27 para la reducción de la mortalidad materna y el acceso universal a la salud reproductiva. La misma se inscribe en las actividades que adelanta el Grupo de Trabajo Regional para la Reducción de la Mortalidad Materna (GTR), el cual es el mecanismo regional que aúna los esfuerzos tanto de las agencias del sistema de Naciones Unidas y las agencias bilaterales de cooperación internacional, así como redes de profesionales y organizaciones de la sociedad civil, para impulsar programas y políticas de reducción de la morbi-mortalidad maternas en América Latina y el Caribe.
• Fecha: 23/06/2011 Párrafos: 33En el marco de las actividades de seguimiento al mandato la “Estrategia y Plan de Acción para la Reducción de la Desnutrición Crónica”. El 50 Consejo Directivo de OPS aprobó las metas de reducción en cinco puntos porcentuales la desnutrición crónica en niños menores de cinco años y la prevalencia de anemia nutricional en las embarazadas para el 2015. La estrategia pone su énfasis en la generación e intercambio de información y lecciones aprendidas, en la abogacía y coordinación intersectorial e inter-agencial, en el desarrollo de capacidades para la prestación de servicios integrados basados en atención primaria renovada, en la integración de acciones en la familia y las comunidades y en la movilización de recursos y alianzas estratégicas.
• Fecha: 22/06/2011 Párrafos: 35La , la OPS desarrolló “Iniciativa de eliminación de la transmisión vertical madre-hijo del VIH y la reducción de la sífilis congénita”. La misma se ha propuesto alcanzar las metas de eliminación del 2% de la transmisión vertical del VIH y la incidencia de sífilis congénita a menos de 0,5 casos por 1.000 nacidos vivos para el 2015. Para tales fines Se han definido y puesto en marcha programas e intervenciones para la prevención, detección temprana y tratamiento oportuno de embarazadas y recién nacidos en el nivel primario de atención en todos los países, con un sistema de vigilancia y monitoreo. La iniciativa cuenta con un mecanismo de coordinación inter-agencial bajo el liderazgo de OPS y UNICEF. Países del Caribe lideran la eliminación con compromiso al más alto nivel político.
Facebook
Twitter
