Established in 1902

The Pan American Health Organization founded in 1902, is one of the oldest surviving international public health agencies in the World. It promotes and coordinates efforts of countries in the Western Hemisphere to:

• combat disease
• lengthen life
• promote the physical, mental and social health of their people

PAHO is an inter-governmental organization which aims to improve health through ensuring equity of access to the conditions which facilitate good health and to strengthen regional national and local health systems throughout the Americas - from Canada in the north to Argentina in the south, including the islands of the Caribbean.

The countries cooperate technically with and among each other with the support of the PAHO Secretariat. While the focus of coordination for cooperation in each country is the Ministry of Health, PAHO collaborates with all relevant governmental ministries and non-governmental organizations whose activities at the national or local level impact on health and development. PAHO collaborates closely with the international community, universities and religious institutions to foster sustainability of successful interventions. For this purpose scientific and technical experts in health are stationed in a network of PAHO country offices and centers in most countries in the Americas.

The headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization is in Washington, D.C and serves as the Regional Office in the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition it serves as the specialized organization for health of the Inter-American System. This dual identity places PAHO in an unique position.

PAHO in the Caribbean

There is a long history of PAHO involvement in the Caribbean, since Zone Offices were created in 1951 before any of the territories had gained their independence. The Zone I office in Caracas, Venezuela, had the responsibility for technical cooperation with the Caribbean Territories.

In the 1960s, as the countries became independent and formally joined PAHO as individual sovereign states, the role of the Zone Offices changed. In this post-independence era the first English-speaking Caribbean country to join PAHO was Jamaica on August 23, 1962. Other countries gained membership with the organization in the following order:

Date of Membership

Country

1962

August 23

Jamaica

1963

September 20

Trinidad & Tobago

1964

October 8

The Bahamas

1967

October 2

Barbados

October 2

Guyana

1976

September 29

Suriname

1977

September 26

Grenada

1980

September 22

Saint Lucia

1981

September 21

Dominica

September 21

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

1982

September 20

Antigua & Barbuda

September 20

Belize

1984

September 24

Saint Kitts & Nevis

As the role of the Zone Offices changed Country Offices were created, each headed by a Representative of the Director. In 1975 the Zone Offices were designated Area Offices but Caracas still retained responsibility for much of the technical cooperation in the English-speaking Caribbean sub-region.

In 1978 the Office of Caribbean Program Coordination was established in Barbados in recognition of the commonality of health problems in the sub-region. This similarity of health systems originated in the common historical development and the long standing tradition of collaboration in health among these countries. Many of the resources were transferred from Caracas.

At this time, in addition to the Office of Caribbean Program Coordination, the English-speaking Caribbean is served by Country Offices headed by PAHO/WHO Representatives (PWRs) in the:

• Bahamas (responsible for Turks and Caicos Islands)
• Belize
• Jamaica (responsible for Bermuda and the Cayman Islands)
• Guyana
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago.

The Dutch Islands are served through the Office in Venezuela and other non English-speaking Caribbean countries are served through Offices in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. PAHO has Centers in which scientific and technical resources to address one or more related areas are concentrated to support the needs of all the countries. Two (2) of these PAHO Centers are located in the Caribbean:

• The Caribbean Epidemiology Center in Trinidad and Tobago, and
• The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute in Jamaica

These centers are also supported by the CARICOM member countries. Together with the Office of CPC, the centers provide a unique network of sub-regional programs for the Caribbean.

All countries have access to all PAHO resources located at the Regional level, in other Country Offices and in other PAHO Centers through their designated PAHO/WHO Representative. Other PAHO Centers are:

PAHO can also mobilize resources from selected national Centers of Excellence with which it has Collaborative Agreements. These are known as WHO or PAHO Collaborating Centers.