PAHO and the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases join forces to reduce childhood infectious diseases
August 17, 2024
San José, Costa Rica, August 16, 2024 (PAHO). The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (SLIPE) today signed a cooperation agreement aimed at reducing the prevalence of infectious diseases in children and adolescents in Latin America.
Despite a 60% decrease in deaths among children under 5 in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2000, infectious diseases – such as influenza and pneumonia, malaria and tuberculosis – remain a leading cause of death in this age group. In addition to causing mortality and disability, these diseases impose significant economic and social costs on families and communities, disproportionately affecting people with limited resources and in vulnerable situations.
“This agreement will allow PAHO to provide technical and strategic guidance to strengthen health systems and combat childhood infections,” said Dr. Alfonso Tenorio Gnecco, PAHO/WHO Representative in Costa Rica. “Our goal is to reduce preventable child deaths through a comprehensive range of interventions,” added Dr. Tenorio Gnecco, who signed the agreement on behalf of Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director.
PAHO and SLIPE will collaborate on projects in key areas such as immunization, pediatric infectious diseases, arboviruses (such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya), perinatal infections and neonatal sepsis. In addition, they will work to strengthen surveillance systems, promote ongoing research to inform clinical practices and implement awareness campaigns.
“The signing of this framework agreement represents a crucial step in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in the region,” said Dr. María Luisa Ávila, president of SLIPE, which has more than 1,200 members in the region. “This collaboration will strengthen our capacity to address this growing threat by promoting joint actions and implementing strategies based on scientific evidence, which are essential to protect the health of our children and adolescents in Latin America.”
This five-year renewable technical cooperation framework agreement is aligned with other PAHO initiatives to combat infectious diseases and promote the health of children and adolescents in the region. These include the Plan of Action for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health 2018-2030 and the Disease Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions by 2030.
About the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their people. Founded in 1902, it is the oldest international public health agency in the world. It serves as the WHO Regional Office for the Americas and is the specialized health agency of the inter-American system. About the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectiology (SLIPE)
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Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectiology (SLIPE), founded in the 1980s, is an initiative of Latin American physicians specialized in pediatric infectious diseases. Its mission is to promote the development of the medical specialty in the region, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and promote scientific research in this field between Latin American countries, promoting regional and global collaborative research and continuing medical education.Read more
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