The Committee, which is composed of nine PAHO Member States, will establish new priorities for the Organization’s technical cooperation. It will take place until Friday 30 June in Washington, DC.

In his opening speech, PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa said the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases is at an all-time high and there is an urgent need to increase surveillance and immunization coverage.

He also considered it “critical” to improve maternal, newborn and child health indicators and to address “the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, including mental health conditions.”

“And yet, I am more confident than ever in our region’s ability to respond. The pandemic put the Americas to the test, but it also revealed what’s possible when we work as a collective and make public health our highest priority,” he said.

Dr. Barbosa asserted that “the urgency, innovation and solidarity we employed to overcome Covid-19 should not be reserved only for times of emergency” and stressed that, as Director of PAHO, he wants to “bring the same urgency and innovative approach to address our most pressing health challenges and ensuring equitable access to health care for everyone in the Americas”.

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