PAHO's 2025 Annual Report highlights resilience, innovation, and regional cooperation for health

The report details progress in health security, disease elimination, digital transformation, and strengthening health systems across the Americas.

Mar. 21, 2026 at 6:43pm

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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has released its 2025 Annual Report, outlining significant progress in health security, disease elimination, digital transformation, and the strengthening of health systems across the Americas, including the Caribbean. The web-based report, titled 'Driving Innovation, Delivering Impact,' details how regional cooperation and sustained technical support have helped countries tackle both persistent and emerging health challenges.

Why it matters

The report highlights PAHO's ability to adapt and deliver on its mission to advance health for all in the Americas, even in the face of reduced global health funding and an increasingly complex public health environment. The progress detailed in the report demonstrates the value of regional cooperation and technical support in strengthening healthcare systems, improving access to services, and responding to new and ongoing threats.

The details

The report outlines key areas of progress, including disease elimination, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), primary health care reform, digital innovation, the impact of PAHO's Regional Revolving Funds, regional manufacturing, and health security. Major milestones include Suriname becoming the first country in the Amazon basin to be certified malaria-free, Brazil eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the expansion of PAHO's Better Care for NCDs initiative to over 10,000 primary healthcare centres across 28 countries.

  • PAHO released its 2025 Annual Report on March 21, 2026.
  • Suriname became the first country in the Amazon basin to be certified malaria-free in 2025.
  • Brazil eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 2025.
  • PAHO's Better Care for NCDs initiative expanded significantly in 2025, reaching over 10,000 primary healthcare centres across 28 countries.

The players

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa

The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

PAHO

The Pan American Health Organization, an international public health agency that has worked to improve health and living standards in the Americas for over 120 years.

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What they’re saying

“The year 2025 tested the resilience of health systems and international cooperation alike. Against a backdrop of reduced global health funding, PAHO once again demonstrated its ability—built over more than 120 years—to adapt, deliver, and advance health for all in the Americas.”

— Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director

What’s next

The report highlights the need for stronger vaccination coverage and surveillance systems to address the re-establishment of measles transmission in the Americas, which caused more than 14,000 cases and 30 deaths across 13 countries.

The takeaway

PAHO's 2025 Annual Report demonstrates the organization's continued resilience, innovation, and commitment to regional cooperation in addressing persistent and emerging health challenges across the Americas, even in the face of reduced global health funding and an increasingly complex public health environment.