Evaluation of the Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 2020–2022. Volume I. Final Report
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Evaluation of the Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 2020–2022. Volume I. Final Report. (2023). [Official Document]. PAHO. https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/57700
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English; 116 pages
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2023
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978-92-75-12742-1 (PDF)
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978-92-75-12743-8 (Print version)
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The report on the evaluation of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Region of the Americas reflects the findings that covered the period from January 2020 to August 2022. It provides information on PAHO’s support to its Member States in accordance with the World Health Organization, and COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. The data collected during the evaluation was consolidated and analyzed at strategic, organizational, and operational levels. It focuses on PAHO as an organization, and whilst it does not assess Member States’ responses to the pandemic, it provides information on how PAHO collaborated with and supported Member States during the response. In addition to presenting information related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas and PAHO’s programmatic response, the report provides information on key achievements, on the enabling and limiting factors, gaps and lessons that have emerged from PAHO’s response to COVID-19 pandemic, which serve to inform preparedness for and response to future public health emergencies. Finally, evidence-based recommendations are provided for corrective actions to strengthen future pandemic responses, while building a resilient recovery in the Region. These recommendations are focused on PAHO’s governance and management, specialized regional mechanisms, diversified funding models, and use of new technologies.
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The "Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 2020-2022. Volume II Annexes" is available from: https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/57705
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Item Evaluation of the Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 2020–2022. Volume II. Annexes(PAHO, 2023)This document is the companion publication to 'Evaluation of the Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 2020-2022. Volume I Final Report', which reflects the findings that covered the period from January 2020 to August 2022. It provides information on PAHO’s support to its Member States in accordance with the World Health Organization, and COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. The data collected during the evaluation was consolidated and analyzed at strategic, organizational, and operational levels. It focuses on PAHO as an organization, and whilst it does not assess Member States’ responses to the pandemic, it provides information on how PAHO collaborated with and supported Member States during the response. In addition to presenting information related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas and PAHO’s programmatic response, the report provides information on key achievements, on the enabling and limiting factors, gaps and lessons that have emerged from PAHO’s response to COVID-19 pandemic, which serve to inform preparedness for and response to future public health emergencies. Finally, evidence-based recommendations are provided for corrective actions to strengthen future pandemic responses, while building a resilient recovery in the Region. These recommendations are focused on PAHO’s governance and management, specialized regional mechanisms, diversified funding models, and use of new technologies.Item Action Plan for Implementation of Recommendations from the Evaluation of PAHO's Response to COVID-19. IREP-C19(PAHO, 2023)An external team evaluated PAHO’s response to COVID-19 to provide an independent assessment of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau’s (PASB) performance regarding preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluations’ final report culminates with eight recommendations for actions to future response to health emergencies. The final report of EPRC culminates with eight evidence-based recommendations of actions to strengthen future pandemic responses, while building a resilient recovery in the Region. The recommendations by the external team focus on PAHO’s governance and management, on specialized regional mechanisms, diversified funding models, and use of new technologies, among others.Item PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centres Regional Webinar. Engaging Our Partners to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Together, 19–20 April 2021(PAHO, 2021)The Region of the Americas has benefited from the support of collaborating centres (CCs) of the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1950. Since then, CCs have supported the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in several technical areas, such as nursing, communicable diseases, health promotion, information systems for health, mental health, emergency response, and many others. PAHO has worked to ensure that CC work plans are aligned with the regional priorities and mandates agreed upon by its Member States. This alignment ensures high-quality support from CCs to improve the technical cooperation provided by PAHO to the Member States. In addition, it assures that this collaborative work is linked to the Organization’s response to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In April 2021, PAHO convened all 183 CCs located in the Region for a webinar with the overall goal of recognizing the importance of CCs in achieving the SDGs. It also aimed to showcase the importance of international cooperation during challenging times, as experienced with COVID-19. The webinar was a starting point for PAHO to reengage with CCs. It included the participation of Executive Management, department directors, PAHO/WHO Representatives, and key PAHO personnel. This report provides an overview of the panel discussions and key recommendations made by participants to improve the technical relationships between PAHO and CCs. Addressing the recommendations stemming from this webinar and the previous evaluations will prove to be an important building block toward advancing the CC mechanism and PAHO technical cooperation.Item XXVI Meeting of PAHO’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Vaccines bring us closer, 14–16 July 2021 (virtual)(PAHO, 2021)Originally established in 1985 to discuss strategies for polio eradication, PAHO’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases convened its 26th meeting on 14-16 July 2021 to provide technical recommendations for the Region of the Americas and identify research needs to strengthen immunization programs. PAHO’s Assistant Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, provided the opening remarks. In the two years since the last TAG meeting, the Region of the Americas has faced numerous public health emergencies. First, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in the Americas reported additional setbacks in routine vaccination and surveillance performance, reaching a 10% decline in DTP3 coverage over the last 10 years. The Region is at high risk of new and re-emerging outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Second, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put an additional strain on the national EPI and healthcare systems, while deflecting considerable resources to emergency response operations. The combination of public health and social measures and the administration of COVID-19 vaccines are the main tools to mitigate the pandemic and can prevent serious illness and death. PAHO’s priority is to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all people in the Region. The Organization remains committed to providing technical assistance to Member States while they implement national COVID-19 vaccination operations. PAHO intends to use this introduction process to further strengthen national routine immunization programs. The TAG Chair, Dr. Peter Figueroa, opened the meeting by welcoming all participants: TAG members; representatives of national immunization programs; National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) presidents; Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, chair of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization; and all representatives from partner agencies. Dr. Figueroa also took the opportunity to recognize the contributions of health workers and public health officials whose efforts during the pandemic saved lives while maintaining all operations of the national immunization programs. He concluded by issuing a strong call to Member States to act against the spread of VPDs in the time of COVID-19.Item XI Ad Hoc Meeting of the PAHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 21 November 2023. Virtual(PAHO, 2024)The Region of the Americas is recovering its immunization coverage rates for most antigens. In 2022, the coverage rate for the third dose of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3) was 90% – up from 86% in 2021. Overall, 1.3 million children younger than 1 year remain unvaccinated, compared to 1.9 million in 2021. Of course, the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is long, but the Americas are showing signs of progress. However, this progress is under threat from persistent infections that cause heavy burdens of disease in the Americas. Especially heavy is the burden of dengue virus. In 2002, dengue cases exceeded 1 million, whereas more than 2 million were recorded in 2013, and more than 3 million in 2019. While the regional dengue case fatality rate remains below 0.05%, the increased transmission is undermining countries’ efforts for social and economic recovery. In September 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization recommended the use of the two-dose TAK-003 dengue vaccine series produced by Takeda for children ages 6 to 16 years who live in settings with high dengue disease burden and high transmission intensity. During this XI Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Secretariat asked TAG members to consider the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine and propose recommendations for its use in the Americas. Also, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is cause for great concern in the Americas. Data reported from Member States to the PAHO integrated respiratory surveillance network SARInet Plus indicate that RSV contributes significantly to the burden of respiratory diseases in the Region. By age group, RSV-associated cases and hospitalizations have been primarily reported among infants younger than 2 years. In recent months, both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the RSVpreF vaccine Abrysvo produced by Pfizer for pregnant women, with the goal of reducing RSV incidence among newborns younger than 6 months. Again, TAG members were called to provide their recommendations to PAHO on the use of this vaccine in the Americas.