At the 2003 meeting of the Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the PAHO Member States issued a mandate to strengthen primary health care (Resolution CD44. R6). The mandate led in 2005 to the document "Renewing Primary Health Care in the Americas. A Position Paper of the Pan American Health Organization/WHO [World Health Organization]," and it culminated in the Declaration of Montevideo, an agreement among the governments of the Region of the Americas to renew their commitment to primary health care (PHC). Scientific data have shown that PHC, regarded as the basis of all the health systems in the Region, is a key component of effective health systems and can be adapted to the range of diverse social, cultural, and economic conditions that exist. The new, global health paradigm has given rise to changes in the population's health care needs. Health services and systems must adapt to address these changes. Building on the legacy of the International Conference on Primary Health Care, held in 1978 in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), PAHO proposes a group of strategies critical to adopting PHC-based health care systems based on the principles of equity, solidarity, and the right to the highest possible standard of health. The main objective of the strategies is to develop and/or strengthen PHC-based health systems in the entire Region of the Americas. A substantial effort will be required on the part of health professionals, citizens, governments, associations, and agencies. This document explains the strategies that must be employed at the national, subregional, Regional, and global levels.
Given that the lack of qualified human resources devoted to primary health care (PHC) is one of the reasons why Alma Ata goals are as yet unattained, PAHO/WHO sponsored the design and implementation of a virtual course for training health care professionals at this level. The course was designed around competencies identified as being necessary for renewing primary care, founded on the premise that providing quality, sustainable services amenable to the public must emanate from professionals who lead the change process at all levels in the system. In this first phase, instruction is aimed at PHC leaders, managers, and other decision makers. The course is offered through the Virtual Public Health Campus and is 27 weeks long.
This study reveals a temporal bimodal mortality distribution for yellow fever during the outbreak, with a high impact in adult men and in the La Barceloneta neighborhood.
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