Health Conditions in the Americas, 1977-1980

Abstract

[Foreword]. This report on Health Conditions in the Americas, 1977-1980 covers the period of transition be tween the end o f the program set forth in the Ten-Year Health Plan for the Americas1 (1 9 7 0 -1 9 8 0 ) and the beginning of the new hemispheric commitment to achieve health for all by the year 2000. As such, this eighth compilation o f data on the state of health in the Region depicts in statistical form the progress made by Member Countries o f the Pan American Health Organization in controlling disease and extending life expectancy. Starting with this premise, the Directing Council of PAHO launched a Plan of Action to implement the Regional Strategies of health for all by the year 2000. The challenge of achieving the goal of health for all will require the unflagging commitment of governments, the allocation of required resources, and the reform and restructuring of health systems in order to obtain maximum equity, efficiency, and effectiveness. An essential and innovative objective of the Plan of Action and of the Regional Strategies is a new recognition o f the importance of intersectoral development and o f full community participation. However, the planning , implementation, and evaluation o f the actions taken in each o f these important areas w ill depend on the adequacy o f information available to decision-makers. Statistics have been called the integers o f social and political arithmetic. They provide quantitative information on conditions in the countries which permits more effective management o f public affairs. In the health field and in the integration o f health into the process of economic development, it is important, now more than ever, to have available accurate and current statistics. T h e data presented in this series of reports serves multiple users. It makes available to governments a comparative analytic tool for the evaluation o f their own health situations and health systems; it serves the PAHO Governing Bodies by providing a basis for the establishment o f goals and objectives and as background for setting priorities for technical cooperation activities; and it enables other international organizations to gather information on health together with economics, employment, agricultural production, education, and other data necessary for producing a full picture of social and economic development with in the Region. In addition, it offers students, scholars, and researchers an invaluable compilation of information on the health situation o f the peoples of the Americas. This report has been designed with reference to both the Ten-Year Health Plan and the new directions of the Plan o f Action, and thus incorporates a separate section on the high-risk populations defined by the Plan, including children and youth, women , and the elderly. The comparative approach used in the analyses, figures, and narrative focuses on the evaluation of the progress achieved during the period of the Ten-Year Health Plan and on the establishment of a benchmark for the future assessment of the impact of the Plan of Action.