PAN AMERICAN NETWORK OF COLLABORATING AND REFERENCE CENTERS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Preparatory Meeting Cuernavaca, Morelos.

PAN AMERICAN NETWORK OF COLLABORATING AND REFERENCE CENTERS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Preparatory Meeting

Cuernavaca, Morelos. México

January 19-20, 2006

2OrganizaciónPanamericanade la Salud

“Managerial Strategy for the Work of thePan American Sanitary Bureau for the period

2003-2007”

• improving the Secretariat’s ability to stimulate action at country level,

• focusing attention on those priorities where greater impact is urgently needed.

• Empowering staff to be more creative in the design and implementation of PAHO´s technical cooperation.


PAHO´s organizational corporate objectives for change

• “the office will be recognized as the Region’s primary source of health information and there will be increased networking and sharing of knowledge inside the Organization and between the Organization and its national partners”.


PAHO´s organizational corporate objectives for change

• “Priorities will be addressed through innovative technical cooperation approaches and strategic management of the Secretariat’s resources, underlining the importance of horizontal cooperation among countries as a key expression of Pan Americanism”.


Regional Meeting of Collaborating and Reference Centers on Environmental Health Risk Assessment,

Brasilia, Brazil, december of 2003

• PAHO will continue to stimulate shared work between national centers, as means to add greater value on specific topics in specific geographic areas.



Brasilia, Brazil, December of 2003,

• the role of the collaborating and reference centers is crucial to open more strategic and complementary spaces for technical cooperation opportunities at both regional and subregional level. These should be done through increasingly integrated work modalities, fostering the creation of more efficient and effective co-managed networks.



Brasilia, Brazil, December of 2003,

PAHO´s collaborating and reference centers networks could perform an expanded strategic role, enhancing the Organization capacity on scientific and technical aspects in key areas such as:

• information sharing, • multicenter research projects, • assessments and monitoring, • capacity-building, • human resources development,• direct consultancy to countries.


Meetings of Collaborating Centers on Health Promotion

• Health promoting schools. Puerto Rico, 2004

• Healthy housing centers. Peru, 2005

• Healthy municipalities centers. Peru, 2005


THEME DESIGNATED IN PROCESS TOTAL

Occupational Health 11 7 18

Tobacco 4 0 4

Environmental Epidemiology 7 1 8

Water 1 0 1

Violence 7 0 7

Health Promotion 4 7 11

Healthy Municipalities 2 5 7

Health Promoting Schools 1 9 10

Healthy Housing 2 1 3

TOTAL 39 30 69

WHO Collaborating Centers by theme, designated and in process


WHO Collaborating Centers by country, designated and in process

COUNTRY DESIGNATED IN PROCESS TOTAL

Argentina 0 2 2

Bolivia 1 1 2

Brasil 3 4 7

Canada 9 2 11

Chile 2 2 4

Colombia 2 3 5

Costa Rica 1 0 1

Cuba 2 3 5

España 0 1 1

Mexico 3 1 4

Nicaragua| 0 1 1

Peru 0 3 3

Puerto Rico 0 1 1

Uruguay 0 2 2

USA 16 3 19

Venezuela 0 1 1

TOTAL 39 30 69


Objective

To create the Pan American Network of

Collaborating and Reference Centers for

Sustainable Development and Environmental

Health as an autonomous and complementary

mechanism of PAHO´s technical cooperation, in

compliance with the goals and results envisioned

in SDE programs at the regional, subregional and

country levels.


Composition of the Network

The Network will be comprised by Collaborating

Centers designated by WHO and Reference

Centers selected by PAHO (academic, service and

civil society institutions at national and

subregional levels) with a potential of becoming

international benchmarks in the various topics

under SDE’s technical competence.


Essential functions of the Network

• To incorporate SDE priorities in technical, political and public agendas at the national subregional and regional levels.

• To collect, organize, analyze, disseminate and publish scientific and technical information.

• To develop and adapt methodologies and instruments for the assessment and analysis on: environmental risks, consumer patterns, lifestyles and healthy environments.



• To develop and adapt methodologies and instruments related to advocacy, marketing and social communication –appropriate to regional context

• To train human resources and develop educational programs

• To take part in shared research programs.



• To provide consultancy services on scientific and technical topics related to policy making.

• To provide direct technical cooperation to member countries.

• To organize technical forums and facilitate the exchange of knowledge.

• To mobilize complementary resources for the self-financing of the Network and other projects related to technical cooperation.


Strategies

The Network should be at the same time plural and a convergent mechanism.

• The Network should be an autonomous effort, technically supported by PAHO and other stakeholders

• The Network should foster collective work, creating appropriate opportunities for an exchange of experiences, both virtual and face to face.


Strategies

Membership be based on technical criteria and in response to proposals submitted by the countries.

• The Network’s everyday operation should be the responsibility of the participating centers with the support of PAHO and other stakeholders.

• The Network should be able to incorporate other international scientific agencies and associations as support institutions.


Strategies

• PAHO (in particular PWR) officers should become important liaisons with the Network

• Special attention should be paid to the needs and requests submitted by priority countries , particularly in topics related to the Unfinished Agenda and the Millennium Development Goals.

• The reference institutions taking part in the Network should be designated for a four-year period and should be periodically evaluated.


Strategies

• The reference institutions taking part in the Network in due time may be proposed for becoming WHO collaborating centers

The Network’s products should be reflected in the Biannual Programs and Budgets (BPB)s


Financing of the Network

In the short term, PAHO will provide “seed funds” for the development of the Network.

TCC and extra-budgetary funds will be encouraged.

In the mid-term, the Network –with the support of the participating countries, other stakeholders and PAHO– should mobilize its own resources.


Criteria for the selection of reference

institutions to participate in the Network • Scientific and technical production • Relevance and leadership at national and

international levels• Contributions and commitment to sustainable

development • Stability in human, financial and technological

resources and/or potential for growth• Willingness in contributing to the compliance of

PAHO´s and priorities • Willingness to participate as providers of

technical cooperation to member countries


Priority themes to guide the work of the Network

• Health promotion• Health determinants• Education for health• Social communication• Communication of risks• Health promoting schools and

universities• Monitoring of risk and

protection practices and factors

• Healthy municipalities, cities and communities

• Urban health• Local development

• Social and citizen participation• Healthy housing• Basic sanitation• Environmental Health and

Children • Workers’ Health• Tobacco• Sanitary monitoring • Consumer health• Violence• Chemical safety• Road safety• Food security


Future steps

• Finalize technical documents and criteria for the selection of Reference Centers

• Prepare a detailed budget, including a proposal for the creation of two funds: research and publications

• Organize and carry out the Second Meeting of SDE Collaborating and Reference Centers

• Include the work proposals of the Collaborating and Reference Centers in the 2006 – 2007 BPB

PAN AMERICAN NETWORK OF COLLABORATING AND REFERENCE CENTERS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Preparatory Meeting Cuernavaca, Morelos.

Documents

national centers

reference centers networks

healthy housing centers

healthy municipalities

health promotionhealth

technical aspects

organization capacity

strategic management