The Pan American Health Organization. What it is, What it does, How it Works

Abstract

For the first time in the history... When the International Sanitary Bureau - the parent entity of the Pan American Health Organization - was founded early in this century, it was the first time in history that a community of nations joined forces on a permanent, formal basis, to protect the health of their populations. It was a time of change and progress in the Western Hemisphere: the Spanish American War had ended, the Panama Canal was under construction, new treaties were being signed and commercial relations expanded. But it was also a time of great epidemics of smallpox, malaria, typhus and yellow fever... To help the Governments of the Americas in these fields, PAHO provides expert advice and technical assistance, acting also as a clearing house for scientific information and central co-ordinating agency. It is, in essence, still "lending its best aid and experience..." for the betterment of health conditions in the Hemisphere.