Washington DC November 14, 2024 (PAHO) – The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, today convened Ministers of Health and other high-level health authorities to a panel discussion to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Pan American Sanitary Code.
The Pan American Sanitary Code, which was adopted by the countries of America on the 14thth of November 1924 in Cuba, it was the first multilateral treaty of its kind. It committed the Region of the Americas to work together to prevent the international spread of communicable diseases and committed countries to notify the appearance of any suspected cases of contagion within their territories.
During the opening of the celebration, Dr. Barbosa highlighted that “today, a century later, 20 articles of the Pan American Health Code remain in force,” establishing the fundamental duties of PAHO as a regional public health organization. The Code also inspired the creation of other global health cooperation frameworks, including the first International Health Regulations (IHR) that came into force in 1951.
The recent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic “have shown us that, one hundred years later, the principles of Pan-Americanism and solidarity, established in the Pan American Health Code, remain valid and necessary,” added the PAHO Director.
For Dr. Barbosa, the amendments to the IHR, adopted during the World Health Assembly in May of this year, as well as the new Pandemic Agreement, currently negotiated by the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), They are crucial “to better prepare the situation.” world for future outbreaks and public health emergencies.”
To support countries in these processes, PAHO has convened face-to-face meetings with countries of the Americas and Permanent Missions in Geneva, to discuss priority elements of these negotiations, and has also facilitated external evaluations of health capacities in Latin America and the Caribbean within the framework of the IHR.
The Director of PAHO stressed that “the same spirit of cooperation that inspired the 1924 Code is also reflected in the implementation of the Regional Platform for Innovation and Production of Medicines,” a collaborative Pan-American effort to achieve self-sufficiency, through regional production. of medicines, vaccines and critical health supplies.”
Affirming the Organization’s continued commitment to the solidarity and cooperation that inspired the creation of the Pan American Health Code 100 years ago, Dr. Barbosa called on countries to “recognize that our security and well-being depend on unified public health collaboration.” throughout the continent.” .”
“May these 100 years of Pan-Americanism inspire us to continue strengthening our collaboration and solidarity, to continue building together a future of better health and well-being for the people of the Americas,” he concluded.
The Emeritus Directors of PAHO, Dr. George Alleyne and Dr. Mirta Roses, also participated in the celebration, as well as a Panel, moderated by Dr. Ciro Ugarte, Director of the Department of Health Emergencies of PAHO, with the participation of Dr. Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health of Chile; Dr. Kayla Laserson, Director of the Center for Global Health at the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC); Dr. Vivian Kouri Cardella, Director of the Pedro Kouri Institute, Cuba; Dr. Nisia Trinidade, Minister of Health of Brazil; Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); and Dr. Peter Figueroa, Professor of Public Health, University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
Quotes from participants:
Dr. George Alleyne – Director Emeritus, PAHO
“The Pan American Sanitary Code is one of the most important health documents in the world. The Code is a living manifestation of the relevance of the Pan American doctrine, and I trust that its expression in health will continue to find expression in the Pan American Health Organization from generation to generation.”
Dr. Mirta Roses – Director Emerita, PAHO
The Pan American Health Code, “represents the greatest achievement in the normalization of health in the American continent and the culmination of decades of international initiatives aimed at prolonging life and achieving human happiness.”
Dr. Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health of Chile
“From my perspective, the Pan American Health Code represents a milestone – in the recognition of the countries of the Americas of the responsibility of the State in health issues, in the promotion of public health systems and in the contextualization of the roles of the public health-. .”
Dr. Kayla F. Laserson, director of the Center for Global Health at the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)
“Even 100 years ago, when the Code was started, the idea of surveillance and the idea of finding all the problems that exist and stopping them at the source, was there from the beginning. But even then, as we know today, you cannot stop, control or prevent what you cannot count, see or measure.” “When we think about surveillance, data and the people behind surveillance, we also think about partnerships, and the partnership with PAHO has really been longstanding. “We are similar institutions that have worked well together for years and years.”
Dr. Vivian Kouri Cardella, Director of the Pedro Kouri Institute, Cuba
“When the Pan American Health Code was signed in Cuba, communicable diseases were a barrier to the implementation of the health code at the time and continue to be a threat today. Despite the advances we have seen in molecular biology and modern medicine, we also face modern challenges when it comes to the elimination and control of communicable diseases. No country is free from these dangers.”
Dr. Nisia Trinidade, Minister of Health of Brazil
“This important milestone in public health has helped advance surveillance, epidemiology, services and health security. I hope that this milestone is one more step towards intensifying collaboration between the peoples of the Americas.”
Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
“A century ago, when airplanes were just beginning to transform our world, visionary leaders gathered to sign the Pan American Sanitary Code. They made a notable decision: to include aviation in their innovative health regulations. In an era when international travel meant long sea voyages and most health measures focused on seaports, these pioneers looked to the sky and saw the future.”
Dr. Peter Figueroa, Professor of Public Health, University of the West Indies, Jamaica
“The elimination of smallpox is one of the most outstanding public health achievements in the Americas and in the world.” “When I was a child, children died of measles or were crippled by polio, but this is no longer the case thanks to the success of regional vaccination programs,” which have been carried out during the last 100 years of the Code. «We must sustain these historic achievements in the Americas.»
