The economic impact of eliminating industrially produced trans fatty acids in Barbados

The fact sheet facilitates the dissemination of evidence in Barbados on the potential impact of industrially produced trans-fatty acids elimination best practice policies in mortality, productivity and reducing the incidence of noncommunicable diseases. This information may help inform Member States' policy formulation in advancing food labeling regulations in the Region.

Criteria for Healthy Municipalities, Cities, and Communities in the Region of the Americas

The regional criteria for healthy municipalities, cities and communities (MCCS) of the Americas, adopted at the Meeting of Mayors for MCCS of the Region of the Americas in 2022, present a set of reference guidelines to strengthen public policies, plans and programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of the populations served by local governments. It is based on the recognition of the key role of municipalities in promoting healthy public policies, taking into account that these transcend the health sector and the role that other sectors have, given the impact of all public policies on health. These criteria are the result of collaborative and interdisciplinary work with the participation of different people and institutions in the Region, including local governments. Some key considerations for the development of these criteria were the experiences of national and subnational networks of healthy municipalities, the existing criteria in several countries in the Region and the World Health Organization guidelines for healthy cities. The criteria are grouped into six areas of political action and for the implementation of each one a group of recommended actions is included, as well as a proposal for means of verification and compliance indicators. They are addressed to municipal management teams, networks and associations of municipalities in the Region, and ministries of Health, as support for policies that strengthen the inclusion of health promotion as a priority of local management. The existing heterogeneity among local governments is expressly recognized, where different organizational forms, competencies and availability of resources address diverse realities. For this reason, the criteria are conceived with a purposeful nature to adapt to this diversity and must be contextualized and prioritized in each territory. Undoubtedly, the application of these guidelines will lead to the identification of different challenges and opportunities that will enrich this proposal.

Health in the Americas: Potentially avoidable premature mortality

In recent decades, a significant improvement in people’s general health conditions has occurred, leading to an increase in life expectancy at birth in most countries in the Region of the Americas. This progress has been the result of both health technology advances – antibiotics, vaccines, and other treatments – and improvements in the conditions in which people live, including increased access to improved drinking water and sanitation, and health services. Nevertheless, progress has slowed in recent years, and achievements have varied among countries and territories, as well as within them. In the journey toward universal health, it is essential to have the ability to monitor and assess progress in terms of the ultimate goal of health systems: improving the health and well-being of populations. To this end, this edition of Health in the Americas analyzes the standardized rate of potentially avoidable premature mortality as an indicator of health system performance, considering both its preventable component through public and intersectoral health interventions, as well as the treatable component, related to the effectiveness of health services, that is, the quality of health care. The analysis of potentially avoidable premature mortality provides a metric for comparing and tracking performance over time. This analytical tool plays a crucial role in holding health systems accountable in the Region of the Americas. Furthermore, the analysis of potentially avoidable premature mortality highlights the importance of investing not only in healthcare services but also in addressing the broader social and environmental determinants of health. This approach is fundamental to ensuring equity in health outcomes across countries. By recognizing the significance of these determinants, countries can develop comprehensive strategies that encompass not only health care but also social policies aimed at reducing inequalities and improving overall population health.

Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean from the Perspective of National Transfer Accounts

This report is the result of collaboration between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), It describes aging based on the socioeconomic profiles of older people in the subregion, from the perspective of national transfer accounts. The report analyzes the profiles of labor income and consumption; the life cycle deficit; financing the system for older people; the interactions between consumption, health, and population aging; the economic support ratio; and public policies that provide transfers to older people. It also explains how public transfers and accumulated assets are the main sources of financing for older people, and how older people often help to finance other groups of people through private transfers. This publication provides evidence that draws attention to the importance of pension systems for the income of older people, and to the low rates of social security contributions resulting from informal and precarious labor conditions, as well as the impact of non-contributory programs.

Communicating with a Focus on Equity, Gender, and Cultural Diversity in the Context of COVID-19 Vaccination. Practical Guide

Incorporating a perspective that takes into account considerations of equity, gender and cultural diversity is the first step towards a form of communication that responds to the multiple and complex realities of the different countries in the Region of the Americas. This practical guide aims to help the communication teams of the Pan American Health Organization to integrate this approach into their daily work and to develop materials that adapt to the particularities of each type of audience. It calls for promoting outreach to beneficiary communities and includes practical examples of inclusive use of language, guidelines for the representation of sociocultural diversity, checklists to evaluate relevance, and specific recommendations within the context of anti-virus vaccines.

Inclusive Digital Health. Policy Overview

One of the eight guiding principles for the digital transformation of the health sector promoted by the Pan American Health Organization is inclusive digital health. This policy brief presents key concepts, recommended lines of action and indicators for monitoring with the aim of advancing inclusive digital health.

Latin America and the Caribbean Code against Cancer. Learn how to help prevent cancer in yourself and your family

The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization convened a group of specialists and representatives of civil society from Latin America and the Caribbean to formulate a series of prevention measures for cancer, based on the most recent scientific evidence and adapted to common scenarios in the subregion. As a result of this initiative, this code presents 17 actions to help prevent cancer, as well as public policy recommendations aimed at guaranteeing its effective application.

Meeting Report of the PAHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Disease Elimination. Meeting Report and Recommendations. 29–30 November 2022

In September 2019, the 57th Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Directing Council endorsed the PAHO Disease Elimination Initiative (EI), an innovative policy that promotes an integrated, sustainable approach to accelerate countries’ progress toward the elimination of communicable diseases and related conditions. The EI builds on the successful track record of disease elimination in the Americas and aims to catalyze political will and leverage the needed technical capacity to achieve a future that is free from the burden of 35 communicable diseases and/or related conditions in the Americas by 2030 and contribute to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. As countries recover from the impact of COVID-19 and adapt to the evolving public health context in the region, PAHO recognized the importance of convening the external Strategic and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) on Disease Elimination to take stock of the new public health landscape and recent developments in the EI and seek orientation and recommendations on priority topics to sustain the disease elimination agenda in the Americas. This report provides a summary of the proceedings, conclusions, and recommendations from the second meeting of the PAHO STAG on Disease Elimination, which took place on 29-30 November 2022.

Front-of-package warning labels save lives and resources: results from a modeling study in Barbados

Unhealthy eating has been driven largely by the widespread availability, affordability, and promotion of ultra-processed and processed food products that are excessive in sugars, fats, and sodium. As such, an essential part of the solution requires the use of laws and regulations to reduce the demand for and offer of products that contain excessive amounts of critical nutrients. One of the key policy tools to regulate such products to prevent them from unbalancing diets is the use of front-of-package labeling (FOPL) to indicate to consumers which products contain excessive amounts of sugars, total fats, saturated fats, trans fats, and/or sodium. This publication presents evidence on the expected impact of the adoption of octagonal warning labels on health and economy of a country. It features results from Barbados, showing warning labels have the potential to avert 16% of the deaths caused by noncommunicable diseases and save the country USD 732.8 million.

STAR-H: Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks in Health Facilities

Health facilities in the Region of the Americas frequently suffer the effects of health emergencies and disasters, which jeopardize their ability to provide services to the population. The STAR-H methodology helps staff responsible for health emergency and disaster risk management to identify and assess risks as part of strategic planning to improve facility preparedness. It is intended to help them develop, with a multi-hazard approach, a response framework with operating procedures to deal with hazards of any type, scale, or frequency; determine roles and responsibilities; facilitate the effective use of resources; undertake strategic planning exercises, and improve the preparedness of facilities to effectively respond to and recover from impacts. This methodology is designed for use in health facilities of any size and capacity, and makes it possible to generate historical reports and national or subnational risk profiles. This information can be used to develop an effective health emergency and disaster risk management program.

Strategy and Plan of Action on Ethnicity and Health 2019–2025. Impact and Process Indicators

The purpose of this publication is to provide continuity to the technical cooperation with Member States of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in estimating and monitoring the targets and indicators proposed by the Strategy and Plan of Action on Ethnicity and Health 2019–2025 in the different countries and territories; and to measure the processes and impact derived from implementing the guidelines contained in the Policy on Ethnicity and Health. The compendium and technical sheets that make up this publication are aimed in particular at cooperating partners and those in the health sector and other sectors that provide support for intercultural action in health. This mainly involves the Ministries of Health of the countries and territories, along with other government ministries and institutions, together with the support of key associates and cooperating partners. The design of this technical tool, in line with the Policy on Ethnicity and Health, was guided by the basic objective of calculating and recording the progress to be achieved in the Region of the Americas between 2019 and 2025 in developing the measures necessary to guarantee an intercultural approach to access health care and services. It has taken into account the social determinants of health from a standpoint of equality and mutual respect, valuing the cultural practices of the Region’s ethnic groups, including their lifestyles, social organization, value systems, traditions, and worldviews.

Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer. Module 01: Psychosocial assessment

Advances in the treatment of pediatric cancer have made it possible to expand initiatives beyond cure and cover aspects such as early detection, continuity of treatment and reduction in toxicity. All this has paved the way for a more comprehensive vision of patient care, which means better chances of healing and a fuller life - objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer. Within this comprehensive care, psychosocial care includes the social, psychological, spiritual and functional dimensions of the disease process of patients. This series includes guidelines and standards based on evidence that guarantee the quality of said care. The standards are the result of discussion and review by different professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean. Module 1 focuses on psychosocial evaluation as a strategy to support the objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer, and as a tool for health professionals to gather the necessary information to offer these patients a comprehensive approach focused on well-being, adaptation to the disease process, and adherence to treatment.

A Compendium of Tools and Methods to Address Social Inequities Affecting the Health and Well-being of Women, Children, and Adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean

To support the achievement of health equity in the Region, the regional inter-agency movement Every Woman Every Child Latin America and the Caribbean (EWEC-LAC) advocates for and supports the use of equity and evidence-based policies, strategies and interventions to accelerate equitable progress in the health of women, children and adolescents. Although progress has been made, great inequities persist. Women from the LAC region’s poorest countries are almost four times more likely to die due to complications during childbirth than those living in the wealthiest countries. Through the years, several tools, instruments and methods (TIMs) have been developed by global, regional and country partners that can be used to conduct systematic equity-based analyses and/or re-designs of health systems, programs, strategies and interventions. The main purpose of this document is to present an overview of existing TIMs that can be used by policymakers, program managers, development partners, nongovernmental organizations, academia and civil society partners to strengthen systematic identification, analysis and responding to social inequities in the health of women, children and adolescents in LAC. The TIMs included were identified through a systematic search process. The aim is to periodically update this compendium with new or newly identified TIMs. This compendium is the result of an effort coordinated by the regional inter-agency movement Every Woman Every Child Latin America and the Caribbean (EWEC-LAC).

The Sociodemographic and Economic Context of Aging in Latin America

With the aim of providing an overview of the current knowledge available on the health and well-being of older people in the Region of the Americas at the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030), as well as reporting on population aging in the Region, this report provides updated information on the sociodemographic and economic conditions of older people using a multidimensional and people-centered approach. It covers the demographic, geographical, sociocultural, and family characteristics of older people in Latin America, and describes their economic and health situation based on data from the most recent demographic censuses of five countries in the subregion. This paper highlights the heterogeneity of the sociodemographic and socioeconomic conditions of older people in the Region, reflecting significant differences in the level of economic and social development of the various countries.

The Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons as a tool to promote the Decade of Healthy Aging

This report aims to outline the current available knowledge on the health and wellbeing of older persons in the Region of the Americas during the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). It also seeks to guide political actions towards ensuring the human rights of older persons, and describes the negotiation and drafting process behind the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. It reports on the doctrinal and legal developments that led the Region of the Americas to draft the Convention and describes its action areas and guaranteed rights, as well as the obligations assumed by the States Parties. The Convention is an essential tool to advance the strategies of the Decade of Healthy Ageing. This publication reflects on the importance of having a major legal instrument for this purpose at the international level. The demographic transition in Latin America and the Caribbean will continue to shape the ability of countries and health systems to respond to the needs of the population. Given this reality, international instruments will be needed to guarantee the full enjoyment of the human rights of older persons. In order to design inclusive and sustainable systems, accurate, updated, and effective information is required. The Decade of Healthy Ageing––the initiative that constitutes the framework for this document––is a strategic period in which to focus on data generation and monitoring.

Health Service Access Barriers for Older People in the Region of the Americas

With the aim of providing an overview of the current knowledge available on the health and well-being of older people in the Region of the Americas during the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030) and guiding actions aimed at promoting healthy aging, this report identifies the main barriers faced by older people in accessing health services. These include six barriers related to access: health care needs, perception of needs, health care seeking, health care “reaching” (i.e., obtaining health care), health care utilization, and health care “consequences” (health, satisfaction, economic protection), the description and analysis of which are addressed from the standpoint of supply of and demand for services. This approach to the issue makes it possible to delve into the specific barriers that hinder older people’ access to health services, which differ from the barriers faced by people in younger population groups. The impact of factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly increased access barriers, is also highlighted. This report, which is part of The Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas: situation and challenges, provides elements to help the countries of the Region of the Americas to formulate strategies aimed at eliminating barriers to access to health services, based on the premise that lowering these barriers will foster better health and promote healthy aging.

Country Cooperation Strategy 2022-2027 Brazil. Revised Version

The Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has developed a solid partnership with the Federative Republic of Brazil to promote the development of the national health system and its international projection. PAHO/WHO monitors the performance of the health sector, facilitates learning, fosters the improvement of methodologies and technologies, and encourages sustainability and the exchange of successful experiences. The final objective of the PAHO/WHO technical cooperation is to contribute to universal health, the improvement of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the achievement of better health outcomes in Brazil. The Brazilian State has the right to health as a core value, established in the Federal Constitution of 1988, and advocates its promotion and protection without distinction. In the last two decades, we observed important advances in the health of the Brazilian population: an increase in the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures the dimensions of health, income, and education; and an increase in life expectancy at birth, which increased by 6.8 years between 2000 and 2019. Despite the advances and economic growth achieved, poverty and inequalities continue to be a challenge not only for Brazil, but also for the entire Region. The Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) 2022-2027 is an opportunity to reinforce commitments and alliances to face the challenges that still exist in the field of public health with the support of PAHO/WHO technical cooperation with Brazil. The CCS is a strategic reference for the process of planning and allocating technical cooperation resources to Brazil, which must be continually reviewed and updated to ensure constructive interaction between the Country’s priorities and those of the Organization, in addition to allow its adaptation to new national health scenarios in the country.

Report on Indigenous Women’s Maternal Health in Latin America and the Caribbean. Summary

Maternal mortality among indigenous women is unacceptably high. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been working for years to prevent these deaths, which are largely avoidable if proven measures are applied: quality maternal care, universal access to contraceptive methods, and fighting inequalities in access to health care. This publication presents a summary of the Report on Indigenous Women’s Maternal Health in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by PAHO in follow-up to the recommendation made by the 18th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It includes a description of the situation of indigenous women’s maternal health, the tools promoted by PAHO to integrate the intercultural approach into pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care services, and the related technical cooperation activities that PAHO has carried out in the last five years in the subregion.

Closing the Gap: The Health Disparities of Older LGBTI People in the Americas

The chapter Closing the Gap: The Health Disparities of Older LGBTI People in the Americas, is part of the publication series titled ‘Decade of Healthy Aging: situation and challenges’. In order to outline the current knowledge available on the situation of health and well-being of older persons in the Americas at the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030), this document presents data and existing evidence different forms of discrimination and mistreatment older people face due to their sexual orientation and gender identities that ultimately increase health disparities. Previous studies on LGBTI older people offer valuable information on the lived experiences of these communities and demonstrate that they face unique challenges with aging, emphasizing the difficulties related to access to care. Very few studies on older people and aging include a focus on sexual orientation or gender identity; however, it is possible to point out that HIV/AIDS is one of the most significant health disparities confronting LGBTI older persons, followed by physical and mental health problems, substance use, social isolation, poverty, and the lack of access to quality healthcare, including long-term care facilities or other institutions. Closing the gap in access and quality of health and care services is an imperative to increase longevity, health status and quality of life of LGBTI older people.

Fostering Health Systems’ Monitoring to Better Serve Older Populations

The chapter Fostering Health Systems’ Monitoring to Better Serve Older Populations is part of the publication series entitled Decade of Healthy Aging: Situation and Challenges. The publications are designed to favor the prioritization of effective actions at the local level as well as the monitoring of data and public health policies, and providing evidence-based information. Along with the objective of presenting the available updated knowledge about the situation of health and aging at the beginning of the Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas, this publication gives information about health systems’ monitoring to better serve the needs of older adults and emphasizes the need for societies and health systems to better adapt to an aging population. It introduces the 360-tool as a guide to adapt health systems through monitoring tracers/indicators and highlighting the data and information that is readily available, disaggregated by age. This information can aid in decision-making and resource allocation to support older adults’ needs. Concerning the 360-tool development, a consensus has been reached on seven tracer indicators with high relevance to informing policy, and case studies in selected countries have assessed the feasibility of this approach. The list of indicators and the process related to the development of the tool are presented in this publication. The Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 is a period to guide action towards the transformation of societies by fostering the inclusion of older people in every decision. This publication intends to contribute to this strategy and highlight the upcoming challenges and opportunities on healthy aging.