Brazilian Jarbas Barbosa assumes the leadership of PAHO

The Brazilian doctor Jarbas Barbosa, an expert in public health and epidemiology, took over the leadership of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Tuesday in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Barbosa’s experience for lead during the pandemic of Covid-19, PAHO’s efforts so that the countries of the region had equitable reinforcements in vaccine batches, as well as improving the capacities in Latin American countries to produce medicines and health technologies were key to taking him to office.

The new director told the voice of america that PAHO “has a very balanced situation” in finances thanks to the contributions of the countries of the continent and also because of the item that the World Health Organization (WHO) gives to the entity as part of the region.

During the pandemic, “we had the capacity to mobilize a lot of resources,” which allowed even the weakest countries in the region to strengthen their public health systems, he said.

Jarbas Barbosa was the assistant director of the PAHO, based in Washington, where he arrived in 2007 due to his experience as an epidemiologist.

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The Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, Xavier Becerra, highlighted the profile of the Brazilian doctor to lead the organization, and said that the United States “is committed” to crucial health issues in the region and ready to expand assistance if necessary. .

Barbosa “has the great task of leading this organization at a particularly challenging time. We must put into practice everything we have learned from COVID-19, while recognizing that the next health emergency could be lurking in the shadows, ready to emerge at any moment,” Becerra said.

The Minister of Health of Brazil, Nísia Trindade Lima, reviewed the career of the head of PAHO as a researcher and academic with extensive experience in public health in the South American country before moving to Washington.

The minister stressed that the region faces health challengesbut he is confident that his colleague will meet expectations and said that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula is fully available to support him in his mandate.

“As an expert in public health, he always fought to defend the principles of the Brazilian health reform and work for an inclusive and supportive society that places health as a universal right,” said the Brazilian minister.

For the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, Barbosa assumes the leadership of PAHO “at a crucial juncture”, in part due to the challenges that still remain with the lag of the Covid-19 pandemic and the preparation of the security systems. the region to face new challenges.

“He has a formidable resume, a doctor, specializing in public health and epidemiology,” plus the positions held in Brazil in the public health system, Almagro listed.

In his speech, the head of PAHO said that the countries of the Americas are facing a complex situation where the threats of communicable diseases persist, the risk of outbreaks and epidemics, plus the increase in other non-communicable diseases, to which add traffic accidents, violence and the effects of climate change.

“We need a solid and resilient health system that can perform all the essential public health functions,” Barbosa said when defining the four axes that will guide its management.

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