Brazilian Dr. Jarbas Barbosa Da Silva Jr. elected new PAHO director
Brazilian Dr. Jarbas Barbosa Da Silva Jr. has been elected as the brand new director of the Pan American Well being Group (PAHO), succeeding Dominican Dr. Carissa Etienne, who demits workplace in February subsequent yr after two five-year phrases.
The Brazilian was amongst 5 individuals vying for the publish, together with Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume, who had been nominated by Haiti. The opposite candidates got here from Panama, Mexico, and Uruguay.
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa Da Silva Jr. is at the moment the assistant director at PAHO the place he has led the group’s efforts to extend equitable entry to COVID-19 vaccines and to boost regional capacities to supply medicines and different well being applied sciences.
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He joined PAHO in 2007 as space supervisor for Well being Surveillance and Illness Administration, chargeable for coordinating regional actions associated to the surveillance, prevention, and management of communicable and non-communicable illnesses; veterinary public well being; and well being evaluation and statistics.
His election fashioned a part of the spotlight of the continued thirtieth Pan American Sanitary Convention, the place a decision was adopted by delegates appointing Dr. Etienne as director emeritus “for her service to the Pan American Well being Group and the World Well being Group” as of the date of her retirement.
WHO Director Common, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu thanked Dr. Etienne for her “excellent management over the previous ten years,” informing the incoming director that he has “large footwear to fill.”
He mentioned Dr. Da Silva Jr had gained the boldness of member states of the Americas in a keenly contested election.
“This can be a nice privilege and nice accountability, and all of the assist comes with severe expectation from you. The well being of the area’s one billion individuals is in your palms,” he mentioned, including that the area is extraordinarily various with an enormous vary of cultures, languages, and revenue ranges.
“From the Arctic to the Antarctic, from the North Pacific to the South Atlantic, from megacities to city slums…you’ll be confronted with an enormous vary of well being challenges…. you’ll assume this place at a crucial time as we search to finish the pandemic,” the WHO director common mentioned.
In her remarks, Dr. Etienne mentioned the Brazilian now has the privilege to guide “the oldest, most prestigious public well being group on this planet” and that he’ll work intently with member states to satisfy the wants of the “final individual of this area.”
She thanked the delegates “for bestowing upon me from the primary of February (subsequent yr) the title of director emeritus,” saying “I’ll bear it very proudly and I’ll proceed to determine with this group.
“I’ll hold a far distance from the administration…however I shall be proud to advocate on behalf of this group as we transfer ahead,” she mentioned.
CMC/