During 2004, the Pan American Health Organization also dealt with such varied issues as HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, access to medicines, the role of women and seniors, maternal health and mortality, and road safety. Much of the year’s work focused on the Millennium Development Goals and PAHO’s five priority countries: Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guyana and Haiti.

The Pan American Health Organization also gave two famous persons linked to the world of entertainment – Cuban-American pop singer Jon Secada and Heather Mills-McCartney, wife of the former Beatle Paul McCartney -- its “Champion of Health of the Americas” awards for their work on behalf of a healthier and safer world.

From April 23 to 30, countries from Canada to the tip of South America and throughout the Caribbean joined in an unprecedented Vaccination Week in the Americas. The beneficiaries were several tens of millions of children, young women, and seniors, mostly in remote areas.

"We do not see this as another campaign, but rather as an extraordinary opportunity to reach those who all too often are left behind," said Pan American Health Organization Director Dr. Mirta Roses just before Vaccination Week in the Americas got underway. "It is a show of true Pan Americanism, a demonstration of the strong commitment to work together to improve the health of the people of the Americas, especially the children."

In late September, during the annual deliberations of the Pan American Health Organization’s Directing Council, one of the key issues was the impact on regional health systems of the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in 2004. Ministers from the affected countries asked for help to overcome the effects of the hurricanes and tropical storms which killed as many as 1,514 in Haiti alone. The Directing Council is made up of all the top government health authorities in the Americas.

Regarding HIV/AIDS, the health authorities agreed to “continue and strengthen the reduction of the stigma and discrimination in the work place.” They also agreed to support “the nations negotiating the application of the rights of intellectual property included in free trade agreement to ensure the access to antiretroviral medicines.” PAHO is supporting the WHO initiative of “3 by 5” aiming to provide antiretrovirals to 3 million people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005. In the Americas, that means treating 600,000 people living with HIV/AIDS by the next Summit of the Americas in Argentina in November 2005.

Other issues considered during the meeting of the Health Ministers included the migration of qualified registered nurses from Latin America and the Caribbean, human resources in health and primary care. The primary care issue was the key to a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Alma Ata Conference, whose goal was Health for All.

During the April 7 World Health Day celebrations, Mills-McCartney received the Champion of Health in the Americas for her support for the "Road Safety is no Accident" campaign launched on World Health Day this year. She agreed to appear in public service announcements urging drivers and pedestrians to use care to protect themselves and others.

Also in 2004:

- A new report co-authored by the Pan American Health Organization makes clear that maternal mortality is more than a health issue – it is first and foremost a human rights issue. “Every woman has the fundamental right to a safe pregnancy and childbirth, and the right to safe motherhood,” says the report drafted by PAHO and six other agencies and groups. It was unveiled Feb. 20 at PAHO’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. The report on Reduction of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Interagency Strategic Consensus for Latin America and the Caribbean is the work of the Regional Interagency Coordinating Committee (RICC).

- The Pan American Health Organization marked International Women’s Day on March 8 with a panel discussion on the “invisible and unpaid work” of women who are the majority of volunteers in the home care for the elderly, their partners, families and friends. The 90-minute panel presentation was at PAHO’s headquarters in Washington, D.C, and the opening speaker was PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses, who addressed on the topic of “Health Care in the Home: Invisible Work.”

- As part of the World Breastfeeding Week, in the first week of August, the Pan American Health Organization noted that exclusively breastfeeding infants for the first six months of their lives provides all the energy and nutrients a child needs while reducing the risks of infant diarrhea and respiratory infections. Even though breastfeeding is considered a natural practice, it is also a learned behavior. According to the PAHO report on Health in the Americas, “although most women in Latin America breastfeed and do so for a relatively long period of time, breastfeeding practices are far from optimal.”

- The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world's first public health and corporate accountability treaty, is set to become binding international law after PAHO member Peru became the 40th country to ratify the treaty on Nov. 30. Up to that date, Peru was one of six nations of the Americas that have ratified the treaty. The others are Canada, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

- Dec. 1 was World AIDS Day and in front of PAHO’s Washington, D.C., headquarters several hundred red poncho-clad staff members of the Pan American Health Organization formed a live red ribbon as a symbol of their and the organization’s commitment to and solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS.