Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) serves as the Regional
Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). PAHO
Headquarters are in Washington, D.C. PAHO has 38 member governments,
including the United States. PAHO is recognized internationally as part
of the United Nations system.
PAHO collaborates with Ministries of Health, social security
agencies, other government institutions, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), universities, community groups, and others to strengthen
national and local health systems. PAHO seeks to improve the health of
the peoples of the Americas.
PAN AMERICAN SANITARY BUREAU
The Pan American Sanitary Bureau is the Secretariat of the PAHO. As
an administrative agency, its mission is to cooperate technically with
Member Countries. A document titled "Strategic and Programmatic
Operation, 1999-2002" contains a section on Health Promotion and
Protection, which may be of particular interest to the chiropractic
profession. Relevant excerpts are quoted in the following section.
Health promotion and protection
"Inasmuch as health is the main component of human development,
its promotion must, perforce, involve a much broader scope of action
than that customarily handled by health systems and services. Most of
the considerations related to the health of populations are based on
their living conditions, the fulfillment of their basic needs, the
quality of their environment, the culture to which they belong, and
their knowledge, attitudes, and practices with regard to health. Given
the conditions that still persist in the Region, health promotion and
protection is considered a powerful strategy in the concept and practice
of public health, as well as the fulcrum of a new paradigm aimed at
affecting the detriments of health in general.
"As a way to jointly create with the countries a new culture of
health promotion and protection where health becomes a social value --
which implies training individuals and communities, as well as public,
non-governmental, and private institutions to individually and
collectively assume their responsibilities for preserving and
continually improving their health and well being -- technical
cooperation will be provided to:
 | Acknowledging the role of health promotion as a tool for
empowerment, emphasizing its importance in the regional forums for
presidents and heads of state and first ladies of the Region.
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| Promoting the formulation of policies, plans, programs, standards,
and tools for health promotion.
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| Supporting cooperative and operations research through the network
of Collaborating Centers.
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| Continuing to design and strengthen methodologies and models for
the evaluation of health promotion programs and interventions, the
development of environmental initiatives or healthy spaces in
schools and municipios, and the consolidation of networks of mayors,
health secretariats, and school health associations.
|
| Developing intersectorial work strategies, mobilizing technical,
scientific, political, and financial resources in support of health
promotion; and developing technical, political and social support
networks at all levels, including strategic alliances between the
Pan American Health Organization and both the international
community and the relevant organizations in the countries.
|
| Promoting the use of social communication in health, especially
through the mass media. |
"Inasmuch as the operationalization of the strategies and
programs for health promotion and protection are relatively recent in
most of the countries and that there are solid indications that this is
an absolutely essential strategy that should be part and parcel of all
health actions, PASB will devote special efforts to:
| Disseminating scientific and technical information on health
promotion and protection to the greatest number and variety of
individuals working in public health in the Region and developing
national capabilities for the analysis and use of this information.
|
| Promoting evaluation of both inputs and processes, as well as
short-term and long-term effects of the health promotion strategies,
and documenting, analyzing, and disseminating information on the
national experiences in health promotion, noting the
cost-effectiveness of these strategies compared to curative and
rehabilitation activities and health.
|
| Promoting the adoption of healthy lifestyles and risk prevention
through anticipatory behaviors.
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| Promoting the use of the life cycle, family cycle, and gender
approaches.
|
| Promoting the restructuring of the services to enable them to
incorporate these kinds of interventions and make comprehensive
health care a reality. |
"In order to foster human development and prevent disease
throughout the life cycle, priority will be given to cooperation in the
following areas:
| Family health and population, which attaches special importance to
promoting and assessing and development at different ages; this
includes programs for adolescent health, reproductive health, and
health of the elderly.
|
| Food and nutrition, with special attention to malnutrition, the
fortification of food and micronutrients, breast-feeding,
supplementary feeding, nutritional guidelines for the different age
groups, and food security.
|
| Healthy lifestyles and mental health, particularly preventing the
use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; domestic violence; and child
abuse, including social communication in health for the entire
Organization, as well as health education and community
participation, an area that involves initiatives to promote healthy
schools, healthy municipios, and healthy spaces." |
Chiropractic and health promotion
The values and strategies expressed in this document represent
potential opportunities for the chiropractic profession. Chiropractors
acknowledge that:
| The body is a self-healing mechanism.
|
| The nervous system is the master and director of body function.
Everything a human being perceives, and every human expression is
mediated by the nervous system.
|
| If there is interference with nervous system function, it will
compromise the human experience.
|
| Chiropractic care provides an effective clinical strategy for
detecting and correcting vertebral subluxations, which cause
interference with nervous system function.
|
| Chiropractic philosophy provides a cultural context for global
health promotion strategies. |
It is up to the chiropractic profession and the international
community to bring this vision to the citizens of the world.
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