PAHO launches Health in the Americas 2007 in Belize and presents End of Biennium 06-07 Report

Belize City , December 12 2007 - This morning the PAHO/WHO Country Office in Belize presented the flagship PAHO publication, Health in the Americas 2007, to the Ministry of Health and national and international partners. The meeting was attended by representatives from Ministries of Health, Education, and Agriculture; UN Agencies; NGOs; the media; and the Diplomatic Corps.

Health in the Americas (HIA) , issued every five years, comprises Volume One, illustrating a regional perspective and Volume Two, containing individual chapters on the forty-six countries of the Americas .

The PAHO/WHO Belize Country Representative, Dr. D. Beverley Barnett, pointed out that this newest edition shows improvement in health status in the region, a critical contributor to advances in human development, reflecting well on regional health policies, plans, programs, and guidelines. But it acknowledges that enormous challenges remain, chief among them inequities and gaps that keep the most vulnerable populations from sharing equally in the region's overall health progress.

The report points to several major trends that are shaping health in the Americas. In nearly all countries of the region, chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, have replaced communicable diseases as the leading causes of illness, disability, and death. These diseases are on the increase throughout the region and are associated with population aging as well as such risk factors as sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diet, tobacco use, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Belize mirrors these regional trends in chronic diseases. There has been progress in water and basic water sanitation coverage, communicable disease control, sexual and reproductive health, and disaster preparedness, among other areas, but challenges include poverty reduction, prevention and control of chronic diseases, strengthening access to quality care, especially in rural areas, and ensuring environmental sustainability. In his remarks, the Honourable Jose Coye, Minister of Health, emphasized that the culture of prevention is the key to health development and that information from this publication would play a key role in addressing these underlying gaps in health.

After the HIA launch, PAHO/WHO country office personnel presented the 2006-07 End of Biennium Report, highlighting the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned during the Organization's technical cooperation with Belize over that period. During this session, participants made recommendations for strengthening partnerships for health, including the inclusion of all relevant partners in regular meetings organized by the Ministry of Health and PAHO/WHO.

Media links:

Channel 7 News: PAHO: Belize's Literacy Rate Plunges

Channel 5 News: PAHO presents results of annual checkup

Love FM: PAHO AND WHO launches their HEALTH IN THE AMERICAS publication