WASHINGTON, DC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an alert, urging countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean, to update their response plans to prevent the re-establishment of endemic transmission of measles virus.

WASHINGTON, DC – The World Bank’s Pandemic Fund Governing Board has approved US$300 million in financing for its first round of funding to help Caribbean and other developing countries better prepare for and respond to future pandemics. 

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has confirmed the suspension of its services at the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in the town of Carrefour, a largely residential commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, after gunmen last week dragged a patient out of institution and killed him.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) has launched its ‘Out of Our Schools’ mass media campaign amidst a warning from Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton that Jamaica is in a crisis, with some citizens now being forced to adjust their lifestyles due to health challenges.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica (PSJ), concerned at the sale of counterfeit drugs here, is appealing to Jamaicans not to source prescription drugs from questionable, non-registered sources.

TORTOLA,  British Virgin Islands – The government is planning to crack down on and implement restrictions as it relates to the smoking of tobacco products in the British Virgin Islands.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A new study by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) is warning that up to 10 million people could die annually by 2050 due to anti-microbial resistance (AMR).

CAYMAN ISLANDS – Being overweight need not be an impediment to safe and successful knee replacement surgery as long as a patient’s body mass index (BMI) is not above 40 and he or she is not suffering from certain medical conditions.

SANTIAGO, Chile – Strengthening health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean in the wake of COVID-19 must be a priority, according to a new World Bank report.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia – Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre says he will follow the “dictates” of the Ministry of Health and the St. Lucia Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) before responding officially to a locally-based organization expressing concern over amendments proposed to a planned World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty.

WASHINGTON, DC – Brazilian Dr. Jarbas Barbosa was sworn in on Tuesday as the new Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), pledging to work in partnership with member states to end the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that the region’s health systems recover stronger than before. He will take office on 1 February 2023.

Despite recent progress towards eliminating trans fat from food, some five billion people remain unprotected from its harmful impacts, thus increasing their risk of heart disease and death, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.