Objectives

This study had two objectives: first, to estimate trends in affordability of sugar-sweetened beverages and nonessential energy-dense foods from 2010 to 2022 in Mexico, both nationally and by household income level. The second was to simulate the effects of different tax increases for these foods and beverages to observe how much their affordability would change compared with the current scenario. 

In October 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) formally integrated surgical, intensive, and emergency care into its health agenda. This followed important events, including the June 2024 endorsement of the Strategy on Integrated Emergency, Critical and Operative Care 2025–2030 by the PAHO Executive Committee. This strategy builds on the 2015 World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 68.15, which recognized surgery as essential to universal health coverage, and the 2023 WHA Resolution 76.2, which called for standardized emergency preparedness and response.

Objective

To evaluate the system for Health Surveillance of Populations Exposed to Chemical Substances (Vigipeq) in Brazil from 2011 to 2021. 

Objective

To identify barriers to and facilitators of access to perinatal mental health services among pregnant adolescents and young mothers in Belize. 

The establishment of a biobank in the Caribbean represents a vital opportunity to enhance biomedical research and tackle health issues in the area. The Caribbean’s unique genetic diversity, shaped by migration and environmental factors, underscores a well-managed biobank’s potential impact on global health, especially for underrepresented groups. This paper examines biobanking’s potential in the Caribbean, focusing on precision medicine, public health improvements and regional scientific self-sufficiency.

Objective

To conduct a point prevalence survey (PPS) of antibiotic use in the main pediatric tertiary-level hospital in Panama City to establish antibiotic prevalence and identify key areas for addressing antimicrobial resistance. 

Objective

To validate the applicability of the Rose Bengal (RB) test, indirect IgG or IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the Brucellacapt test® to the local context, determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis, and evaluate knowledge of the disease in people at risk in a dairy-producing area of La Maica, Cochabamba (Plurinational State of Bolivia).

Method

The tests were initially validated with a group of 76 people; the final study population was 330 people, who also participated in a socio-epidemiological survey. 

Objective

To describe the functioning of the surveillance system for adverse events following immunization (AEFI) in Colombia using the evaluation tools proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

Objective

To describe the Brazilian experience of responding to public health emergencies in 2023, the organizational structure, and epidemiological characteristics. 

Methods

Three emergencies (case studies) that occurred during the study year were analyzed according to the actions implemented during the response and the impacts on the population. The public health emergencies were summarized and analyzed through research on official documents and websites of the Ministry of Health and local health authorities. 

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a serious public health problem in South America, one that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has included in its Plan of Action for the Control of Neglected Infectious Diseases. A logical framework for CE control was defined: this includes establishing the objective to be achieved (eradication or elimination as a public health problem) and determining levels of endemicity which serve as a guide for establishing frequencies of intervention (high endemicity, endemic, and low endemicity, according to rates in the different hosts).