PAHO Member States elected Dr. Carissa Etienne as the new Director of the Pan American Health Organization during the 28th Pan American Sanitary Conference. Dr. Etienne begins her five-year term on 1 February 2013, succeeding Dr. Mirta Roses Periago of Argentina, who has been PAHO Director since 2003. Dr. Etienne, a native of Dominica, is currently Assistant Director General, Health Systems and Services, at WHO in Geneva. From 2003 to 2008, she served as Assistant Director of PAHO. Dr. Etienne commented, “Our Region is strong. We now see political stability and economic prosperity in the Region at unprecedented levels. At the same time, there are millions of people, some of them in our wealthiest Member States, who do not have access to the social determinants of health or the health care they desperately need. Seventy-four million are living in conditions of extreme poverty. This is a reflection of the inequities that afflict many of our Member States and our Region and present a challenge to us all to strive for social justice, to ensure social inclusion, and to be proactive in addressing the needs of vulnerable and marginalized peoples.” Dr. Etienne said her vision of the Americas is one of “societies free of inequality, where people have access to healthy social determinants and environments that allow them to live long, dignified, healthy, and productive lives. This includes access to universal health services without fear of being impoverished.” Dr. Etienne holds degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of the West Indies as well as a master’s in community health and an honorary diploma in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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