Summary of Four-year Reports on Health Conditions in the Americas 1957-1960. Prepared for The XVI Pan American Sanitary Conference

Abstract

[Prologue]. A synthesis o f health conditions in the Americas for the period 1957-1960 has been prepared from data provided by the Governments. This presentation includes vital and health statistics , trends of prevailing problems and the resources usually employed with special attention to personnel and investments for health services. The series of data permits understanding o f the characteristics of the most prevalent diseases and the effects of the programs for their prevention and treatment. Comparison o f this rep ort with the previous ones, reveals the progress achieved or the retrogressions although it still may fail to reflect reality . The data are incomplete in quality and quantity. They are, however, a basic tool for the interpretation o f the phenomena which condition health and disease and their projections in time. They rep resent the bas is for the formulation and evaluation o f the health plans and programs determining for each period what needs to be done and how it should be done. One does not consider today collecting statistics without giving thought to their analysis and interpretation, and the resulting modifications they will bring forth, whether in preventive or curative actions...