The Honourable Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, will head Jamaica’s six-member delegation to 58th Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Directing Council Meeting scheduled to be held virtually on September 28 and 29, 2020.
The State Minister will join over 30 health ministers in discussing priority health issues in the region of the Americas including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. Among the agenda items also to be prioritized at this year’s meeting are: PAHO Governance Reform, implementation of the International Health Regulations and the Annual Report of the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau.
The PAHO Directing Council meets yearly to set the Council’s policies and priorities, except for every fifth year when the Pan American Sanitary Conference meets. The meeting is attended by delegates from 35 Member States in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, as well as representatives of four Associate Members, three Participating States and two Observer states.
Jamaica’s delegation to the 58th Directing Council Meeting will also include Dr. Jaquiline Bisasor McKenzie, Chief Medical Officer; Dr. Nicole Dawkins Wright, Director of Emergency Disaster Management and Special Services; Dr. Karen Webster Kerr, National Epidemiologist; Dr. Simone Spence, Director of Health Promotion & Protection; and Miss Rowena Palmer, Acting Director of International Cooperation in Health.