Health Situation in the Americas: Core Indicators 2017

Abstract

[Preface - Carissa F. Etienne, Director]. For the 23rd consecutive year the publication, has provided the latest information on key health indicators for the Region of the Americas. This edition includes 82 core indicators for the countries, territories, and subregions of the Americas, which are categorized as follows: demographic-socioeconomic, health status, risk factors, services coverage, and health systems. Information is also included on 17 of the 27 indicators of Goal Three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to We encourage you to visit PAHO’s online Platform for Health Information at www.paho.org/plisa for the complete data set of core indicators. Obtaining and maintaining quality data is challenging and remains a critical task for all of our countries. Additionally, the extensive scope of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require even greater efforts and focus for monitoring its indicators. Nevertheless, having seen the commitment of our countries and the gradual and continuous improvements in the quality of the data that we collect, I am optimistic that our Region is on the right track. The Pan American Sanitary Bureau remains committed to strengthening country capacity to ensure the generation of reliable, valid data in real time. This year’s publication presents an analysis of the following topics: • The obstetric transition and the distribution of causes of maternal deaths, highlighting the increase in indirect obstetric causes and late maternal deaths and sequelae at the regional level. It is imperative to implement interventions that aim to reduce maternal deaths and improve the overall health of women. • The status of progress towards meeting the impact goals of the 2014–2019 PAHO Strategic Plan two years prior to its conclusion. This analysis presents the trends for the regional targets of six health indicators: healthy life expectancy, infant mortality ratio, maternal mortality ratio, mortality amenable to health care, the rate of premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases, and the HIV/AIDS mortality rate. • The health inequalities measured through adolescent fertility, as this indicator is considered useful for identifying inequalities between populations. The data presented in this publication were collected by the countries and validated by the technical entities of the Bureau. This publication would not have been possible without the collaboration between the Ministries of Health and the national statistical institutes of the countries and territories of the Americas, as well as the various specialized agencies of the United Nations system. For this, I am very grateful. I hope this publication continues to be an invaluable source of data on the health of the people of the Americas.