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WASHINGTON, USA (ACN) -- The new director of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Carissa Etienne, who took up the leading PAHO post on Friday for a five-year term, said on Thursday in Washington that her top priority is universal access to high-quality health services in order to guarantee a long, honourable and productive life in this part of the world.

The regional health official, a citizen of Dominica and former deputy director general of the health services with the World Health Organization (WHO) based in Geneva, took her oath as the tenth director of PAHO. The organization, founded 110 years ago, is the world’s oldest international health entity.

A communiqué issued by the Cuba-based PAHO-WHO office explained that the new director succeeds Dr Mirta Roses Periago, from Argentina, who held the regional post for the past ten years.

In her inaugural remarks, the new PAHO director referred to a significant health progress in The Americas, particularly the life expectancy increase, the reduction of the infant mortality rate, the large immunization coverage and new health technologies now available, among other advances.

However, she stressed that such progress has not been equitable for the most vulnerable and poorest population sectors.

Etienne was PAHO deputy director from 2003 to 2008, when she was in charge of technical cooperation programs for health services and systems and health surveillance, as well as for the attention of diseases, family and community health, sustainable development and environment health.

PAHO cooperates with its member nations in the improvement of health and quality of life in the Americas. It is also the specialized entity for the Inter-American Health System.

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