Health in the Americas 2007

One of the Pan American Health Organization's core mandates is to collect and disseminate information on health conditions and trends in the countries and territories of the Americas. Beginning in the mid-1920s, the Organization began including such information within the pages of the Annual Report of the Director. In 1954 PAHO broke new ground by issuing its first comprehensive report exclusively devoted to tracking and analyzing the Region's health situation. Every four years since then, PAHO has continued to publish Health in the Americas. It has become the Organization's flag-ship publication, informing Member Governments on public health issues critical to policy development and decision-making.

The two volumes of Health in the Americas, 2007 Edition, present information for the 2000-2005 period. Volume I examines health in the Americas from a Regional perspective. Among other issues, the volume's six chapters analyze:
the political, social, and economic context of health, as well as important demographic and mortality trends;
the leading diseases and health problems in the period and efforts to prevent and control them;
the structure and functioning of health systems in the Region and efforts to reform them, and
the scope and impact of international cooperation inhealth.

Volume II tackles these same issues from a national perspective and includes information on progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals. This volume has 46 chapters covering information and analysis foreach of the countries or territories in the Americas.

Health in the Americas, 2007 Edition, offers up-to-date information on health in the Region to PAHO's shareholders the countries' health authorities. It also continues its long tradition of utility to other government officials, public health and medical professionals, researchers, librarians, students, and anyone interested in health and human development.