WASHINGTON, D.C., September 24, 2018 — Ministers of Health and senior authorities from member countries and territories of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are currently meeting in Washington, D.C., from September 23 to 27 to establish priorities and to address the main health challenges faced by the Region of the Americas.
During the 56th Directing Council, health authorities of the Americas are discussing “a series of plans to reduce the shortage in health personnel, lower the number of cases of, and deaths from cervical cancer, and improve the health of women, children and adolescents,” PAHO announced in a press release.
“They will also discuss action plans to improve vector control in order to prevent diseases such as malaria, Zika and Chagas disease,” the release noted.
At the opening ceremony on Sunday, September 23, Dr. Duane L. Sands, Minister of Health of The Bahamas, was elected President of the 56th Directing Council and will preside over the Directing Council through September 27.
Dr. Sands thanked the Directing Council for the “distinguished honor of representing The Bahamas as president of the Directing Council,” and expressed his hope that “the meeting will be useful in enabling countries to share experiences and gain consensus,” in a Region that “has been a driving force for important health achievements in the world.” He also highlighted the importance of continuing work towards achieving universal health by 2030.
Dr. Sands is a doctor of cardiology and a vascular surgeon. He worked for more than 20 years as a cardiologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital in The Bahamas until May 2017, when he was appointed Minister of Health of The Bahamas.
Prior to this role, he was Director of the Public Hospitals Authority in The Bahamas, and Chairman of the Bahamas Medical Council from 2007 until 2010. He holds diplomas from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Sands is also a member of the Caribbean Cardiac Society, the Wayne State Surgical Society, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a lecturer at the University of West Indies.
The Minister of Public Health of Ecuador, Verónica Espinosa, and the Minister of Health and Population of Haiti, Marie Gréta Roy Clément, were both elected vice-presidents of the Directing Council.
Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, a native of Dominica, currently is serving her second five-year term as Director of PAHO. She began her second five-year term on February 1, 2018.
