Pro Salute Novi Mundi : A History of the Pan American Health Organization

Abstract

[Preface]. The history of PAHO is replete with heroes—men and women of vision, determination, knowledge, and dedication. Over the generations, they have formed a pageant of mostly nameless movers and shakers that have blazed a trail of progress toward health for all. Yet, in the end, it is the institution, the Pan American Health Organization—a coalition of countries representing some 30% of the earth’s land mass and some 14% of the world’s current population—that has made the difference. Evidence of that difference are the untold millions alive and healthy today, significant decreases in the population’s death rates and increases in their life expectancy, and the ongoing transformation of countries’ health services. These achievements have been wrought in large measure through the cooperation of the Governments of the Region and the Pan American Health Organization. This publication purports to tell that story. In researching it, we came to realize that a detailed history of the Organization would require tomes. That, evidently, is not the intention of Pro Salute Novi Mundi. What we have attempted to do is recount how the Organization has worked to fulfill its mission. We have done this in three parts. The first shows how PAHO addresses, through concerted action, major regional health problems, as exemplified by its response to the recent cholera epidemic. The second traces the progress of the Organization through the years. The last part focuses on special programs and priorities.... Complemented by over 100 full-color photographs, this 290-page publication commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of the World Health Organization for the Americas, the oldest international health agency in the world. Pro Salute Novi Mundi celebrates PAHO's contribution to maintaining a united front against disease and improving health care infrastructure throughout the Americas. By recalling health care milestones, this volume pays tribute to the men and women of vision, determination, and knowledge who, under the auspices of the Organization, blazed the trail toward health for all. This publication tells it all-from the establishment of the Organization in 1902 and its evolution over the next 90 years to the struggles against smallpox, yellow fever, malaria, polio, natural disasters, Aedes aegypti, measles, cancer, and AIDS. Also examined are PAHO's efforts to spread technology and encourage research, to fill the gaps in the health care work force, to encourage healthy lifestyles, and to promote pro-health government policies.