Rapid climate change poses direct and unprecedented challenges to human health on a global scale. These include the burden of disease from environmental risks—expected to rise steadily over the coming years—and direct and indirect effects on human health due to disruptions and shifts in services provided by ecosystems.

Recent decades have witnessed major and alarming changes in nutritional status and trends at the global level. These include a double burden of disease in which some 50 million children under age 5 suffer from wasting or acute malnutrition while 41 million others are overweight or obese. In the Americas, trends similar to, and in some cases worse than, those include high rates of childhood anemia and stunting alongside obesity rates as high as 20-25% in children and adolescents.

Health regulation is regarded as one of public health’s basic functions.

The Region of the Americas, together with the rest of the world, is preparing to face the major challenges presented by the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, whose 17 objectives include health and well-being, the reduction of inequity, and action on a wide range of social and environmental determinants of health.

This special issue of the Pan American Journal of Public Health on women’s health aims to identify and reflect on the main challenges that demographic, social, and epidemiological changes will pose to women’s health in the Region of the Americas in the coming years.

Collecting and applying the evidence is the first step toward increasing coverage of eye health services; minimizing barriers; and reducing the eye health-related disease burden, dependency and disparity. Monitoring epidemiological trends in eye disease, evaluating eye care services, and reporting the results help provide evidence of each country’s progress in implementing the Plan and guide service and resource allocation. The Pan American Journal of Public Health Series on Eye Health reports recent data on eye health obtained in the Region of the Americas.