PAHO calls for more concerted action to prevent animal to human diseases, announces agreements to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines

By Aaron Humes: Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa Etienne announced that PAHO has closed additional agreements with AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Sinovac to facilitate access to COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean. The WHO Emergency Use Listing authorized vaccines will be made available to countries this year and in 2022.

Dr. Etienne called for regional governments to apply a “One Health” approach to rapidly detect emerging pathogens that have the potential to pose a public health risk. PAHO has prioritized this approach for many years.

“Just as we work together to control this pandemic, we must consider the ways in which we can collaborate to avoid future pandemics,” she said.

“COVID-19 has been unique in its scale and impact, but it’s not the first emerging disease to cause ripple effects throughout the world,” she added, citing recent epidemics with severe impacts that were caused by diseases that spill from animals to people, such as Ebola, chikungunya, yellow fever, avian influenza, and Zika.

“We need countries to ensure that animal, agricultural and environmental partners are brought to the table to build more robust surveillance systems that can detect risks faster, prioritize investments in R&D for high-risk pathogens, and establish strong pandemic responses that build on the strengths of these diverse areas of expertise,” she said.

“As countries revisit their health budgets, rethink how they deliver health care and engage in global efforts to prevent the next pandemic, we urge them to build on this “One Health” approach as the smartest, most effective way to protect ourselves from the next crisis,” she said.

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