WASHINGTON, CMC – Health officials from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will join their counterparts from the Americas region here next week for the 62nd Directing Council meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The Sevent, taking place from September 29 to October 3, is one of PAHO’s central governing bodies, and will serve as a key platform to discuss and adopt policies and strategies that we fine-tune regional health priorities for the coming years, thereby strengthening technical cooperation and collaboration among countries.
PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, as well as Albert Ramdin, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), are expected to address the opening ceremony on Monday.
PAHO said that following the ceremony, Dr. Barbosa will present his annual report, highlighting progress and challenges in public health in the Americas, with a focus on disease elimination, emergency response, and strengthening health system resilience in the face of recent crises.
It said that throughout the week, delegates will review and discuss several critical issues for the region, including PAHO’s new Strategic Plan 2026–2031, the budget for 2026–2027, as well as a 2025-30 action plan on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which are the leading cause of death in the Americas.
PAHO said a policy aimed at expanding equitable access to high-cost and high-priced health technologies, to reduce the financial burden of treatment on governments and patients.
It stated that a new Strategy on Health and Migration 2026–2031, aimed at improving access to health services for migrants, strengthening data and surveillance systems, and promoting better integration within the context of increasing regional mobility, will also be among the agenda items.
Delegates will also review final reports on the Strategy for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, Health and Migration, and the Policy on Research for Health, as well as progress reports on increasing the production capacity for essential medicines and technologies, cooperation for health development, and implementation of the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018–2030, among others.
The meeting here will also coincide with the launch of the Report of the World Bank-PAHO Lancet Americas Commission on Primary Health Care and Resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the presentation of the PAHO Award for Health Services Management and Leadership 2025.
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