WASHINGTON, DC, USA (CMC) — Dominican Dr Carissa F Etienne was re-elected on Wednesday for a second five-year term as director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) by member states of the Washington-based organisation.

PAHO said ministers of health meeting at the 29th Pan American Sanitary Conference voted unanimously to re-elect Etienne. Her candidacy, which was not contested, was submitted by the Government of Dominica.

She will assume her second term as director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, PAHO’s secretariat, on February 1, 2018.

In her acceptance speech, Etienne cited her “commitment to deliver to all of our peoples, from all walks of society, a long and productive life, with quality care into our senior years; access to quality health services without fear of impoverishment; access to medicines and vaccines that we can afford, including effective antibiotics; freedom from preventable diseases, with reduced exposure to disease vectors”.

She said access to sexual and reproductive health services; to healthy, nutritious food; and to clean water and adequate sanitation were important, along with safe refuge and adequate health care in the face of disasters and health emergencies.

“Action by the health sector alone will not be sufficient to achieve our objectives,” Etienne said. “This is why, when I visit your countries, I meet with heads of state and officials from across other sectors. Looking beyond government, however, I am convinced that we must mobilise our partners in academia, civil society and the private sector” to improve health.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is attending this week’s conference, said, “I can see the unity of this region” in voting unanimously for Dr Etienne.

“I have seen her leadership in dealing with Zika, hurricanes and emergencies, and how swiftly she reacts. We will communicate often and work well together,” he said.

During Etienne’s first term, the countries of the Americas achieved several important health milestones with PAHO’s support.

These included the elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in 2015 and the elimination of measles in 2016, PAHO said.

It said countries also advanced in the elimination of neglected diseases, including trachoma, Chagas disease, and onchocerciasis (river blindness), and the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

PAHO member states also approved a regional strategy to achieve universal health, becoming the first World Health Organization (WHO) region to do so.

Under Etienne’s leadership, PAHO has supported member states in coping with major epidemics, including Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, as well as disasters that have ranged from hurricanes and catastrophic flooding to earthquakes and droughts.

PAHO said its technical cooperation has also helped countries strengthen their abilities to detect and respond to health threats of potential international concern under the International Health Regulations (IHR).

As detailed in the Quinquennial Report of the Director, PAHO support during the past five years has also helped member states expand access to health services, strengthen regulatory systems for medicines and other health technologies, enhance the health workforce, improve access to safe and effective medicines, and strengthen health information systems to support evidence-based policymaking and health interventions.

PAHO said Dr Etienne began her career as a medical officer at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Dominica, where she eventually became the chief medical officer.

She has also served in other high-level posts in Dominica, including coordinator of the National AIDS Programme, disaster coordinator for the Ministry of Health, chair of the National Advisory Council for HIV/AIDS, and director of Primary Health Care Services.

She received her medical degree (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery – MBBS) from the University of the West Indies Mona, Jamaica; and her Master of Science (MSc) in Community Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Dr Etienne began her first five-year term as PAHO Director on February 1, 2013, after being elected in September 2012.

Previously, from 2008 until 2012, PAHO said she had served as assistant director general for health systems and services at WHO in Geneva, Switzerland.

Prior to that post in Geneva, she was assistant director of PAHO from 2003 to 2008, in charge of five technical areas: Health Systems and Services; Technology, Health Care and Research; Health Surveillance and Disease Management; Family and Community Health; and Sustainable Development and Environmental Health.

During her tenures at WHO and PAHO, Dr Etienne has led efforts to promote universal health coverage and renew primary health care to strengthen health systems to be more integrated and to function better.

She has also spearheaded policy directions for reducing health inequalities and advancing health for all through universal coverage, people centred care, the integration of health into broader public policies, and inclusive and participatory health leadership, PAHO said.

She has been heavily involved in the struggle to help countries reduce the growing burden of non-communicable diseases through efforts to combat obesity and curb the tobacco epidemic, PAHO said.

Additionally, PAHO said she has supported expansion of immunisation programmes in the Americas, and earlier this month accepted the Measles and Rubella Initiative Champion Award for PAHO’s work to eliminate measles and rubella from the Americas.

Dr Etienne produced the World Health Report on ‘Health systems financing: the path to universal coverage’, which was recognised worldwide for its agenda for action by all countries to reach universal coverage and improve health outcomes.