WASHINGTON, CMC – Head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Jarbas Barbosa said, as the region emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it needs to take the “opportunity to accelerate action to recuperate lost public health gains and increase resiliency in our health systems.”

His comments came as PAHO’s Executive Committee concluded its 172nd Session where it adopted 12 resolutions to improve regional health care.

“We will continue to build on our success but must remember that much remains to be done to tackle persisting challenges,” Dr Barbosa said while highlighting the need to improve health data gathering and information systems to better respond to regional health emergencies.

Dr Barbosa underscored the importance of the Regional Revolving Funds, and pledged to improve efficiencies and increase access to vaccines and essential public health supplies.

The PAHO Executive Committee, which is made up of representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica, Suriname, the United States and Uruguay, discussed “pertinent public health topics”, including pandemic response, vaccination coverage, strengthening human resources for health, strategic communications for behavior change, mental health and suicide prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in children, adolescents, and young adults.

While the executive committee noted positive strides towards recovering routine vaccination coverage since the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Barbosa urged governments to focus on identifying existing vaccine inequities and to develop strategies to ensure 95 percent coverage of all essential vaccines, as well as to prepare for the introduction of relevant new vaccines.

Regarding the region’s significant advances towards the elimination of communicable diseases, such as malaria, mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis, and trachoma, the PAHO director highlighted the Organisation’s Elimination Initiative as the “driving force towards more integrated, effective, efficient and equitable health systems.”

The outcomes of the just concluded meeting of the executive committee will be presented to PAHO’s Directing Council in September.