Joint Action to Strengthen the Health Workforce in the Region of the Americas: Americas Health Corps

Joint Action to Strengthen the Health Workforce in the Region of the Americas: Americas Health Corps

WHEN: Monday 26 September 2022 - 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.  EDT

HOW: Live PAHO’s Governing Bodies web page, available in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish at https://www.paho.org/en/governing-bodies

LIVESTREAM

Background 

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted health systems in the Region of the Americas and has clearly exposed the need and urgency to build resilient health systems to be better prepared in the future against emerging threats, as well as to address individual and population health needs for future generations. A well-trained, qualified, and equitably distributed health workforce is fundamental for all countries of the Americas to make progress and accelerate actions to achieve Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage in the Americas.

In alignment with these challenges, the United States (US) Government and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced the launch of the Americas Health Corps (AHC) as part of the “Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas”, adopted by heads of states at the IX Summit of the Americas in June 2022. The AHC aims to address the complex array of challenges in human resources for health that have been exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, scaling up capacity to provide basic and specialized training to 500,000 public health, health science and medical professionals throughout the Region of the Americas, within the next 5 years. 

Through concerted region-wide action, the AHC will boost efforts to ensure that countries in the Region are better prepared against future public health threats, can rapidly recuperate lost public health gains, and develop resilient health systems towards the achievement of Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage by 2030.  

Five Action Pillars for the AHC are proposed, each pillar being interdependent on one another: 

  1.  Increasing Access and Availability of Qualified Health Workers: The Pan American Public Health Corps Training Initiative

  2. A Virtual School in Public Health in the Americas: the PAHO Virtual Campus

  3. Building Future Leadership in Health Governance and Public Health Administration

  4. The Americas Consortium of Academic Centers in Health Sciences and Public Health

  5. Private Sector Engagement and Innovation to Support Health Workforce Development

Agenda

Event Opening. Dr. James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services

The Americas Health Corp: Building Back Better a Resilient Health Workforce in the Americas. Dr. Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health, and Human Services

Challenges and Opportunities to Strengthen the Health Workforce in the Americas post COVID - 19. Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director, PAHO

Panel discussion. Health workforce challenges to building resilient health systems

Panelists:
•    Dr.  Ximena Aguilera, Minister of Health, Chile

•    Dr. Francisco José Coma Martín, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare, Guatemala   (TBC)

•    Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness, Jamaica (TBC)

Plenary discussion

Questions and comments from all Member States

Moderator: Dr. James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services

Closing remarks Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director, PAHO