WASHINGTON, DC, USA (CMC) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says its Directing Council ended its week-long meeting here with the approval of a series of new strategies and plans of action for eliminating HIV/AIDS, malaria and neglected infectious diseases in the Americas, including the Caribbean.

PAHO said council members also agreed to respond “more effectively” to Zika and other arboviruses, as well as the implementation of plans to improve access to high-cost medicines; protecting the health of migrants; and strengthening health systems’ abilities to cope with disasters and other health emergencies.

PAHO’s Dominican-born Director Dr Carissa F Etienne congratulated the organisation’s member states for regional progress in health, which she said was the result of “Pan American solidarity” and collective efforts by the countries to address common health challenges.

Last week, PAHO said the Americas became the first region in the world to be certified as having eliminated endemic transmission of measles after 22 years of work, an achievement Etienne said would be “recorded in the annals of public health as historic”.

“In this monumental achievement, we must recognise the unwavering political will and financial contributions of the governments, partners and donors together with the dedicated and steadfast work of national health staff in all of our countries and territories in bringing the benefits of vaccination to all peoples in the Americas,” Etienne said.

During the meeting, the delegates from 35 member states adopted strategies and plans of action to accelerate efforts to fight HIV and sexually transmitted infections between now and 2020 “so as to eliminate them as public health problems by the year 2030”.

The ministers also agreed on a plan to intensify malaria elimination efforts in the Americas over the next four years.

An agreement was also reached on a strategy for integrated control of arborviruses, a group of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes that includes Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever; on a new framework for integrated efforts to make health systems more resilient in disasters and health emergencies; and on a plan of action to eliminate eight neglected infectious diseases and to prevent, control and reduce the burden of five others over the next six years.

The ministers of health developed a framework for improving access to and use of high-cost medicines and health technologies to improve care and ensure the sustainability of health systems; and agreed on a resolution calling for health policies and programmes addressing health inequities in the region.

“Looking ahead, we must prepare our governments and peoples to effectively respond both to the rapid ageing of our populations as well as to the massive population expansion that is anticipated over the next few decades,” Etienne said.

“We must work together with each other, and across all of government and with all sectors of society in order to lay a strong foundation for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals [by 2030], “ she added.

During the week, PAHO celebrated the 40th anniversary of its disasters programme and the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Textbook and Instructional Materials Programme.

PALTEX has facilitated access to medical textbooks for students and health professionals in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.