100 years of the Pan-American health organization

Abstract

The century of important achievements in the health of the Americas is worthy of celebration, but we must continue to look at the challenges that demand greater attention from us in order to successfully face them together. The Pan American Health Organization was founded in 1902 by pioneers of Pan American health who had the vision - in the words of the director general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland - "that no country, not even the largest strong among them, will benefit by staying on the sidelines. In this century of efforts in the health fight to make the Americas a better place to live, the development of vaccines against all types of diseases, including smallpox worldwide and poliomyelitis in the Americas, stands out. Today it is urgent to point out the importance of developing and applying new vaccines, especially against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.