WHO & Regionals [to 22 March 2014]
http://www.who.int/en/

PAHO
http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=466&Itemid=959&lang=en

WHO: Four Western Pacific countries and areas are the first in their Region to be measles-free
20 March 2014 — The WHO Western Pacific Region celebrated a milestone with the announcement of measles elimination by Australia, Macao (China), Mongolia and the Republic of Korea. They are the first countries or areas in the Region to receive this distinction… Fourteen countries and areas submitted reports to the Measles Regional Verification Commission appointed by WHO and made up of 14 international experts to determine if all verification criteria were met by each country and area . WHO defines that measles elimination can be verified when there is “documentation that shows interruption of endemic measles virus transmission for a period of at least 36 months” in the presence of a well-performing surveillance system and supportive genotyping evidence….

WHO: World TB Day 2014: Reach the 3 million
19 March 2014 – “World TB Day, 24 March, is an opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide and the status of TB prevention and control efforts.
TB is curable, but current efforts to find, treat and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient. Of the 9 million people a year who get sick with TB, 3 million of them are “missed” by health systems. World TB Day provides the opportunity to call for further action to reach the 3 million. All partners can help take forward innovative approaches to ensure that everyone suffering from TB has access to TB diagnosis, treatment and cure…”
–       World TB Day 2014 brochure

PAHO: Water and sanitation improvements remain key to defeating cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic (03/21/2014)
Three and a half years into a cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 8,500 lives, Haiti has made significant progress in slowing the spread of the disease. However, controlling and eventually eliminating cholera will require major improvements in water and sanitation infrastructure, said representatives of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and its partner organizations in the Regional Coalition for Water and Sanitation to Eliminate Cholera from Hispaniola.

PAHO: Eight in 10 adolescent girls in the Americas have access to HPV vaccine, following its introduction in Brazil
03/20/2014
PAHO said that following its introduction in Brazil last week, HPV vaccine is now available to more than 80% of adolescent girls in the Americas…
…PAHO/WHO estimates that 68,818 women in the Americas developed cervical cancer and 28,565 died from the disease in 2012. In Brazil, the National Cancer Institute estimates 15,000 new cases and 4,800 deaths each year.

This year, Brazil plans to vaccinate 5.2 million adolescent girls ages 11 to 13, or more than 20% of all girls in this age group in the Americas. In 2015, Brazil plans to expand the target group to girls 9 to 11, and starting in 2016 to 9-year-old girls. The vaccinations are being given at public and private schools and in the 36,000 vaccination centers of the national health system…

…PAHO supports Brazil’s decision to provide the HPV vaccine free of charge to adolescent girls as part of an integrated approach to prevention and control of cervical cancer. “The universal introduction of the HPV vaccine shows the commitment of Brazilian officials and health workers,” said Cuauhtémoc Ruiz, head of PAHO/WHO’s Expanded Immunization Program…