By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
September 30, 2022
Public health officers across the Americas and the Caribbean voted on Wednesday for Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., a national of Brazil, to be the new Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The election process took place even as they gathered for the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference, held from 26-30 September 2022 in Washington D.C.
Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr will begin his five-year term on February 1st, 2023, succeeding Dr. Carissa F. Etienne of Dominica, who has led PAHO since 2012.
During the conference World Health Organisation’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus welcomed Dr. da Silva Jr to the helm, and slightly joked that he was now responsible for the “taking over of the region, home to over one billion people with their health now in your hands, no pressure”.
The WHO Director General added that with the post, Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr would now “equally be faced with a huge range of health challenges. From aging to antimicrobial resistance, dengue, to diabetes, chagas to cancers, malaria to mental health and so much more. There is s a gap of 18 years between the countries with the region’s shortest and longest life expectancies. You will assume this position at a critical time, as we seek to end a pandemic and jumpstart progress to the three billion targets and sustainable development goals” if you serve two terms, you will lead the region to the end of the SDG era and lead it into another, and if you serve two terms, you will be working with a new a director general in five years’ time. Someone, not me. But in the meantime you are stuck with me”
Dr. Ghebreyesus expressed gratitude to outgoing PAHO Director with the words, “My sister Carisa, thank you once again for your outstanding leadership over the last ten years”
In passing on the baton to Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr, outgoing PAHO Director, Dr.Etienne said she “hoped he felt privileged to the lead the oldest, most, prestigious health organization in the world, I hope that makes you feel good, but I hope that makes you feel sufficiently humbled that you will work so closely with member states to meet the needs of the last person of this region”.
Meanwhile, she thanked the “other candidates and their countries for putting themselves forward, as it says they have great confidence in this great organization, and you are willing to give yourself to ensure it grows from strength to strength”. Dr. Etienne assured all member states, that all was in place for the transition for his takeover next February. She added after working with him for the last four years, she was confident that he possessed the necessary knowledge, expertise and experience to take the reigns of what is a known as a renowned organization and to take it to even higher heights, and that she looked forward to hearing even greater things of PAHO.
She also thanked member states for their confidence in multilateralism, as well as PAHO.
From February 1st, Dr.Etienne will also carry the title as Dr.Emeritus, a title bestowed upon her following her service to PAHO in the capacity of Director. She added while she was happy for any other position outside of management, she was grateful to simply advocate for the organization in any capacity even within her homeland, Dominica.
In continuing her bid farewell, Dr. Etienne said change was inevitable, and “We need to continuously change, if we don’t we will be relegated to the fate of the dinosaurs. So while PAHO is an old organization, but it is one that needs to progress. And wished its member states, its new director general and secretariat, great progress and continue to the next 120 years in solidarity for the health, and wellbeing, and dignity of every last human being in this region”.
Upon being elected during the session, Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr shared his surprise when he heard he had been elected for the post, which he said represented the strength of the organization and the faith its member countries placed in it, even after there was a total of over five candidates put forward for selection.
He noted while it was not easy to follow in “Dr.Etienne’s footsteps in leadership, he did believe that with the same commitment to strengthen health and the quality of life, and the vision they worked together. I am very proud as a public health worker, to lead any organization that is 120 years old, so my commitment is to continue to uphold the same values that we have always defended, solidarity, the desires to have all countries working together in coordination, so as to improve the quality of life and the health of the region”.
As a national of Brazil, Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr. is currently the Assistant Director at PAHO where he has led the Organization’s efforts to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and to enhance regional capacities to produce medicines and other health technologies. Dr. Barbosa joined PAHO in 2007 as Area Manager for Health Surveillance and Disease Management, responsible for coordinating regional activities related to the surveillance, prevention, and control of communicable and noncommunicable diseases; veterinary public health; and health analysis and statistics.