Published 13 June 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Opposition Leader Douglas Appointed To High-Level PAHO Commission
Former Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has been appointed as a member of a high-level commission that was convened by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to propose solutions for expanding health coverage and access in the Americas, with the goal of leaving no one behind by 2030.
Dr. Douglas was appointed by PAHO’s Director Carissa Etienne earlier this month to be a member of the recently launched Regional Forum on Universal Health in the 21st Century: 40 Years of Alma-Ata.
The high-level commission is headed by former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.
The commission is composed of representatives of international organizations, government, civil society and academia from more than 10 countries of the Americas.
Other members of the commission, along with Dr. Denzil Douglas, former prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis are Carina Vance, executive director of the South American Institute of Government in Health (ISAGS-UNASUR); Lais Abramo, director of the Social Development Division of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Margarita Posada, national coordinator of the Social Health Forum of El Salvador; Hernando Viveros Cabezas, president of the Afro-Colombian Global Initiative; Vivian Camacho, defender of the rights of the indigenous populations of Bolivia; Toni Reis, president of the Dignidade Group, which defends the rights of LGBTI people in Brazil; and Mirna Kay Cunningham Kain, president of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC).
The commission is expected to produce a report with recommendations on improving the performance of health systems, including those who are still excluded, and empowering communities and improving social participation in decisions that impact on their health, in order to advance universal health in the Americas.
