dc.description.abstract | [Foreword]. Twenty years have elapsed since the Pan American Sanitary Bureau initiated, at the mandate of
the Governing Bodies, the collection and analysis of data from the Governments which have permitted the
publication of Health Conditions in the Americas. This series is today more than a profile for the
content acquired over the period is sufficient to understand and interpret the evolution of certain health
problems, the distribution and use of resources to solve them, the modification of priorities as a result of
advances or recessions; in summary, a true sequence enabling comparative analyses of the countries.
This report is the fifth of the series initiated in 1954 and covers the years 1965-1968. All depict
stages in the natural history of health and disease in the Continent. The language that describes it is
derived from the interpretation of the data and, above all, of the actions which, based on recorded
experience, contribute to the reduction of the impact of morbidity and mortality. It has been well said
that history is not the simple narration of the events which have taken place but the study of human
reality, that is the reflection of the life of those who construct it and who advance and transform it.
There would be no purpose in continuing with these periodic publications if they were not of
value in formulating and executing plans, programs and projects in accordance with the characteristics of
each country, the trends of development, the priorities established, the availability of resources—human,
material and financial—and the resulting evolution. Vital and health statistics of our times are conceived
as dynamic instruments, for reference and application, to be constantly improved. Despite progress,
much remains to be done to perfect their quality and accuracy and to analyze and publish them
currently. For this reason the greatest significance is given to this function, one of the pillars of the
infrastructure which is indispensable in order to benefit those who most need it. It is evident that the
societies of the Continent will have, to a variable degree, a disequilibrium between what they require to
achieve their aspirations and what is available. Whenever priorities must be established and resources
distributed in accordance with them, knowledge of the reality is inescapable, with information carefully
collected and as specific as the characteristics of each problem demand.
We wish to thank the Ministers of Health for their valuable contributions which have permitted the
presentation o f this report. We hope that its contents will be useful to them in carrying out their great
responsibilities. | en_US |