Health in the Americas+, 2017 Edition. Summary: Regional Outlook and Country Profiles

Abstract

Health in the Americas+ 2017 is the fifteenth installment of the Pan American Health Organization’s flagship publication, published since 1956. This edition comes at a unique moment in time, detailing the transition from Millennium to Sustainable Development Goals. This printed summary offers an excellent overview of recent achievements and obstacles, as well as profiles of the health situation in the countries and territories of the Region. The new online platform provides complete texts and updated information. Health in the Americas+ 2017 continues to document progress in the Americas, a Region which has been a leader in disease eradication such as smallpox and continues its progress against polio, measles, rubella, HIV, syphilis and tuberculosis. This edition reports on the increased life expectancy for the Americas and notes the challenges arising from chronic noncommunicable diseases. It marks a reduction in infant mortality, under-five mortality, and burden of infectious disease and also presents the need to address emerging infectious diseases such as Zika, further efforts to reduce maternal mortality, obesity and diabetes, high homicide and teen pregnancy rates, and needed improvements in natural disaster response capabilities. This edition looks at primary and preventative care, universal access to health care, universal coverage, and quality of care in national health systems. Health in the Americas+ 2017 examines the last five years while outlining ambitious and visionary goals for a sustainable future in health, not limited by traditional confines and placing populations and their environments as crucial actors at the center of health delivery. It advocates a life-course approach to health, with health as an essential component and a prerequisite of development. The discussion focuses on the role of civil society, reform of health systems aimed towards universal health, and the application of new information technologies to improving health. The publication includes visual aids quantifying and comparing spending on health care by countries and examining persistent inequities. This publication continues PAHO’s tradition as a leader in public health and provides unique information from the country level for all those interested in the present and future of health in the Region.