Having considered the report of the Director on the collection of quota contributions (Document CD37/22 and Add. I) and the concern expressed by the 111th Meeting of the Executive Committee1 with respect to the status of the collection of quota contributions;

 Noting from the Report of the Working Party on the Application of Article 6.B (Document CD37/22, Add. II) that Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Peru, through recent payment actions, have cleared their arrears relating to years prior to 1991 and have retained full voting rights; and

 Further noting that Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Guatemala, and Haiti have outstanding quota amounts in excess of two full years of assessments and are subject to the application of Article 6.B of the Constitution,

1. To take note of the report of the Director on the collection of quota contributions (Document CD37/22 and Add. I).

2. To express appreciation to those Member Governments that have already made payments in 1993, and to urge all Member Governments in arrears to meet their financial obligations to the Organization in an expeditious manner.

3. To congratulate Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Peru for their payment efforts to reduce quota arrears for prior years.

4. To recognize the concern expressed at the meeting of the Working Party with respect to the future voting privileges of Antigua and Barbuda, and to request the Director to advise the Government of the views of the Council.

5. To express satisfaction with the payment commitment made by Cuba.

6. To request the Director to notify Haiti that its voting privileges are conditionally suspended at this XXXVII Meeting of the Directing Council until a specific and acceptable plan of payment is received by the Secretariat, and that voting privileges will be automatically restored by this action.

7. To request the Director to notify Guatemala that its voting privileges are conditionally suspended at this XXXVII Meeting of the Directing Council until a quota payment equivalent to the amount due for 1989 and a specific and acceptable plan of payment for the balance of outstanding assessments are received by the Secretariat, and that its voting privileges will be automatically restored by these actions.

8. To request that the Director:

a) Continue to monitor the implementation of special payment agreements made by Member Governments in arrears for the payment of prior years' quota assessments;

b) Advise the Executive Committee of Member Governments' compliance with their quota payments' commitments;

c) Report to the XXIV Pan American Sanitary Conference on the status of the collection of quota contributions for 1994 and prior years.

In establishing the contributions of Member Governments, Participating Governments, and Associate Members, their assessments shall be reduced further by the amount standing to their credit in the Tax Equalization Fund, except that credits of those which levy taxes on the emoluments received from the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB) by their nationals and residents shall be reduced by the amounts of such tax reimbursements by PASB.

3. That, in accordance with the Financial Regulations of PAHO, amounts not exceeding the appropriations noted under paragraph 1 shall be available for the payment of obligations incurred during the period 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1995, inclusive. Notwithstanding the provision of this paragraph, obligations during the financial period 1994–1995 shall be limited to the effective working budget, i.e., Parts I–IV.

4. That the Director shall be authorized to transfer credits between parts of the effective working budget, provided that such transfer of credits between parts as are made do not exceed 10% of the part from which the credit is transferred, exclusive of the provision made for transfers from the Director's Development Program in Part I. Except for the provision made for the Director's Development Program in Part I, transfers of credits between parts of the budget in excess of 10% of the part from which credit is transferred may be made with the concurrence of the Executive Committee. The Director is authorized to apply amounts not exceeding the provision for the Director's Development Program to those parts of the effective working budget under which the program obligation will be incurred. All transfers of budget credits shall be reported to the Directing Council or the Pan American Sanitary Conference.

 Whereas, Member Governments appearing in the scale adopted by the Organization of American States (OAS) are assessed according to the percentages shown in that scale, adjusted to PAHO Membership, in compliance with Article 60 of the Pan American Sanitary Code; and

 Whereas, adjustments were made taking into account the assessments of Cuba, the Participating Governments and Associate Members:

The XXXVII Meeting of the Directing Council,

 To establish the assessments of the Member and Participating Countries of the Pan American Health Organization for the financial period 1994–1995 in accordance with the scale of quotas shown and in the corresponding amounts.

 Considering that the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau has recommended to increase the cash value of the PAHO Award for Administration to US$ 5,000; and

 Bearing in mind the necessity that the Award reflect the importance of individual excellence in the administration of public health systems,

1. To increase the cash value of the PAHO Award for Administration to US $5,000, starting with the 1993 Award.

2. To request the Director to include the sum of $5,000 annually for this Award in the program budget.

 Having seen Document CD37/20 on the initiative "Health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas";

 Taking into account the recommendations formulated by the participants at the Working Meeting on Indigenous Peoples and Health, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from 13 to 17 April 1993;

 Recognizing that the living and health conditions of the estimated 43 million indigenous persons in the Region of the Americas are deficient, as reflected in excess mortality due to avoidable causes and in reduced life expectancy at birth, which demonstrates the persistence and even the aggravation of inequalities among indigenous populations in comparison with other homologous social groups;

 Considering the aspiration of indigenous peoples to take charge of their own institutions and ways of life, the need for them to assert their own identity, and the need to respect their rights with regard to health and the environment;

 Recognizing the unique contribution that indigenous peoples make to the preservation of ethnic and cultural diversity in the Americas, to biodiversity and a balanced ecology, and, most especially, to the health and nutrition of society;

 Emphasizing the need to take a new look at, and respect the integrity of, the social, cultural, religious, and spiritual values and practices of indigenous peoples, including those related to health promotion and maintenance and the management of diseases and illnesses; and

 Reiterating the importance of the strategy for the transformation of national health systems and the proposal for the development of alternative models of care at the level of local health systems as a valuable tactical resource and a fundamental requisite for dealing with current problems relating to insufficient coverage, inadequate access, and the lack of acceptance of health services on the part of indigenous populations,

1. To adopt Document CD37/20, which describes the initiative "Health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas," and the report of the Winnipeg Working Meeting containing the conclusions and recommendations on which the initiative is based.

2. To urge the Member Governments to:

a) Facilitate the establishment or strengthening of a high-level technical commission or other mechanism of consensus, as appropriate, with the participation of leaders and representatives of indigenous peoples, for the formulation of policies and strategies and the development of activities in the areas of health and the environment for the benefit of specific indigenous populations;

b) Strengthen the technical, administrative, and managerial capacity of national and local institutions that are responsible for the health of indigenous populations with a view to progressively overcoming the lack of information in this area and ensuring greater access to health services and quality care, thus contributing to a higher degree of equity;

c) Implement intersectoral actions, as appropriate in each case, in the areas of health and the environment both in the official sector and through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and research centers that work in collaboration with indigenous organizations;

d) Promote the transformation of health systems and support the development of alternative models of care, including traditional medicine and research into quality and safety, for indigenous populations within the local health system strategy;

e) Promote the development of disease prevention and health promotion programs in order to address these problems and the most important areas relating to health of indigenous peoples in their countries.

3. To request the Director, within the limits of available resources to:

a) Promote the participation of indigenous persons and their communities in all aspects of PAHO's work on the health of indigenous persons;

b) Identify technical cooperation resources within existing cooperation programs and provide support for the mobilization of additional resources at the international and national level for implementation and evaluation of the initiative "Health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas";

c) Coordinate the regional effort by promoting the establishment of information and mutual cooperation networks between organizations, centers, and institutions whose activities are concerned with the health of indigenous peoples, organizations, and communities, enlisting the Organization's existing mechanisms, initiatives, and programs at the regional level and in the countries and also seeking the cooperation of other agencies and organizations;

d) Expand the evaluation of living conditions and the health situation to include the indigenous peoples of the Region, with a view to gradually overcoming the current lack of information in this area at both the regional and the country level;

e) Promote collaborative research at the regional level and in selected countries on high-priority health issues and health care for indigenous peoples.

 Having seen Document CD37/10 and Add. I and II on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Americas, and taking into account the recommendations of the Meeting of Ministers of Health of the Ibero-American Countries, as well as Resolution WHA46.371 of the World Health Assembly;

 Aware of the growing threat posed by the AIDS epidemic, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the increase in sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) for health and the social and economic development of the Member States; and

 Taking note of the imperative need to mobilize all sectors of society in the campaign against HIV/AIDS/STDs, as well as the need to achieve the best possible coordination of preventive actions at the regional and country level.

1. To call on the Member Governments to:

a) Intensify national efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS/STDs and diminish the social and economic consequences thereof through the unification and coordination of all actions being carried out for this purpose at the country level;

b) Promote the establishment of a national program for preventing and combating AIDS, which will bring together resources from the various sectors of society under the leadership of the ministry of health, in coordination with the government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in the effort to combat HIV/AIDS/STDs;

c) Draw upon the expertise of all relevant United Nations system and Inter-American system organizations in establishing a well-conducted intersectoral program to combat HIV/AIDS/STDs at the country level;

d) Implement, with appropriate financial and technical support from PAHO, specific country programs and activities designed to reduce the incidence of HIV infection among women and newborns.

2. To support fully Resolution WHA46.37, adopted in May 1993, in which the Director-General of WHO is requested to study, in close consultation with all organizations and bodies concerned, the feasibility and practicability of establishing a joint and co-sponsored United Nations program on HIV/AIDS.

3. To recognize PAHO's scientific and technical leadership in the health field in the Region of the Americas.

4. To request the Director to:

a) Assist Member Governments in their efforts to establish strong intersectoral coordinating mechanisms on HIV/AIDS/STDs at the country level;

b) Take the necessary steps to improve coordination in order to promote, bring together, and articulate the actions of the various agencies of the United Nations and the Inter-American systems in the Region of the Americas.

 Reaffirming, reiterating, and expanding on the concepts and mandates contained in Resolutions CD30.R8 (1984), CD31.R18 (1985), CD32.R9 (1987), and CD33.R13 (1988) on the subject of population, the reduction of maternal mortality, maternal and child health, family planning, and women, health, and development;

 Aware of the progress that has been achieved by the countries in the implementation of actions aimed at the reduction of maternal mortality, as well as the level of financial resources that have been mobilized for that purpose by the countries;

 Recognizing also that adolescents are highly vulnerable to the risks of maternal and perinatal death; and

 Endorsing the proposal contained in Document CD37/11 on the Regional Plan of Action for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in the Americas, presented by the Director,

1. To urge the Member Governments to:

a) Define and give priority to a policy on comprehensive health care for women and the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality;

b) Promote the completion and analysis of birth and maternal mortality data as well as valid and pertinent epidemiological data that are useful in support of the decision-making process;

c) Review and appropriately adjust the goals, strategies, and principal actions to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality;

d) Promote concrete programs for the prevention of maternal mortality among adolescents;

e) Promote laws, regulations and policies that will commit national resources and mobilize bilateral or multilateral international cooperation for financing the improvement of health services for women, and mothers in particular.

2. To request that the Director, within the resources available, provide support for activities aimed at the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality in fulfillment of the collective mandates of the Organization, especially the mobilization of national and international technical and financial resources that will make it possible to execute the regional, subregional, and national activities proposed in the progress report on the Regional Plan of Action for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in the Americas.

Elected Bolivia, Canada, and Uruguay to the Executive Committee upon termination of the periods of office of Chile, Cuba, and the United States of America, and thanked the Governments of these countries for the services rendered to the Organization by their representatives on the Committee.

 Having considered the report of the Executive Committee regarding the establishment of a Regional Program on Bioethics (BioEtica/BioEthics) and Document CD37/12 presented by the Director; and

 Taking into account the commitment of the President of Chile, the University of Chile, and the Ministry of Health of Chile to host and contribute to the establishment and operation of the Regional Program on Bioethics as a decentralized PAHO/WHO Program in Chile,

1. To approve the Regional Program on Bioethics as a PAHO/WHO technical program, attached to the Office of the Director/Deputy Director, with headquarters in Santiago, Chile, in association with the University of Chile and the Ministry of Health of Chile.

2. To urge Member States to participate, through voluntary contributions, in the activities of the Regional Program on Bioethics and in the creation and strengthening of national capabilities in the field of bioethics in both the private and public sectors.

3. Request the Director to:

a) Thank, on behalf of the Organization, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile, the Minister of Health of Chile, and the President of the University of Chile, for their interest in and support of the establishment of the Regional Program on Bioethics in Chile;

b) Promote the mobilization of extrabudgetary resources to support and expand the Regional Program;

c) Carry out an evaluation of the work accomplished by the Regional Program on Bioethics after five years of operation, including its impact on the development of bioethics in the Region and the significance of its contribution to the health of the peoples of the Americas, and to report the findings to the Executive Committee in the year 2000.

 Having seen the Annual Report of the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (Official Document 256) on the activities of PAHO during 1992; and

 Bearing in mind the provisions of Article 9.C of the Constitution of the Pan American Health Organization,

1. To take note of the Annual Report of the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau for 1992.

2. To thank the Director for his leadership and support to the Member Governments in the technical cooperation activities carried out by PAHO during 1992.

 Having seen the document on the Regional Plan for Investment in the Environment and Health, which summarizes the principal steps taken so far toward the implementation of the Plan (Document CD37/14);

 Taking note of the previous resolutions adopted by the Governing Bodies of PAHO on the Regional Plan for Investment in the Environment and Health, in particular Resolution XVII1 of the XXXVI Meeting of the Directing Council; and

 Taking into consideration the mandates of the First and Second Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government on the subject of the Plan,

1. To express its satisfaction with PAHO's efforts to increase bilateral and multilateral technical and financial cooperation for investment activities within the frame of reference established by the Plan.

2. To request the Member Governments to:

a) Strengthen national capacity to plan and execute investment projects in environment and health, and to ensure greater efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in the allocation of resources in both sectors;

b) Increase their efforts to articulate internal and external investments aimed at sectoral reform in environment and health;

c) Use the Regional Plan for Investment in the Environment and Health as one of the fundamental approaches for orienting multilateral and bilateral technical and financial cooperation in the Region;

d) Contribute to the Preinvestment Fund in Environment and Health and to participate in the activities financed through it.

3. To request the Director to:

a) Ensure the Organization's continued support of efforts to strengthen national planning capacity in the area of environment and health; to carry out or update sectoral studies; and to develop investment proposals that will increase the mobilization of internal and external resources for both health and environment;

b) Continue promoting contributions to the Preinvestment Fund in Environment and Health, in cooperation with national agencies and bilateral and multilateral technical and financial cooperation institutions;

c) Continue to analyze the investment processes in environment and health at the country level.

 Having seen Document CD37/15, which reports on the financial study and the proposal for the funding of the Pan American Institute for Food Protection and Zoonosis (INPPAZ), and bearing in mind Resolution V of the XXXVI Meeting of the Directing Council of PAHO (1992),

1. To express its appreciation to the Government of the Argentine Republic and the Director of the Pan American Health Organization for carrying out the financial study of INPPAZ and developing the proposal for its funding.

2. To thank the Government of the Argentine Republic for the payments made and the measures taken to make additional payments of its contributions for the maintenance of INPPAZ, and to ask it to keep those contributions current.

3. To thank the Governments of Colombia and Paraguay for their assistance in the financing of technical cooperation activities, and to ask the other Member States for their participation in the funding of INPPAZ.

4. To approve a budget for INPPAX of US$ 9,224,800 for 1994–1995, of which the PAHO contribution is $3,825,100 and the contribution of the Government of the Argentine Republic is $4,034,700.

5. To request the Director to:

a) Continue to make all necessary efforts to guarantee the financing and development of the Institute as provided for in the operating proposal contained in Document CD37/15;

b) Study the market for the services that INPPAZ is in a position to offer to the Member States of PAHO, to the private sector in the Region, and to third countries.

 Having considered and reviewed the report of the Director on the Expanded Program on Immunization (Document CD37/16);

 Noting with great satisfaction that more than two years have passed since detection of the last case of poliomyelitis (on 23 August 1991 in the district of Pichinaki, department of Junín, Peru); that there has been tremendous progress made toward securing the control and definitive elimination of measles, as well as notable achievements in the control of neonatal tetanus; and that in most of the countries the levels of vaccination coverage have been maintained or increased;

 Recognizing that the consolidation of these achievements requires further commitment on the part of all the governments and agencies that are collaborating with the Program, as well as the strengthening of ties between the public and private sectors; and

 Noting with concern that in Alberta, Canada, an importation of wild poliovirus from the Netherlands has been detected,

1. To congratulate all the health workers of the Region for their dedication and their outstanding achievements toward securing control of diseases preventable by vaccination.

2. To commend the health authorities of Canada for their prompt detection and apparent containment of the spread of wild poliovirus following its importation from the Netherlands, as well as the authorities of other countries that acted swiftly to investigate and vaccinate all communities potentially at risk.

3. To urge all the Member Governments to intensify their surveillance among groups potentially at risk for transmission of poliovirus associated with the aforecited or future importations.

4. To recommend to all the Member Governments that they establish national certification commissions to collect and analyze the data on the eradication of poliomyelitis, which are then to be reviewed by the international commission.

5. To call on all the Member Governments to increase their support for activities aimed at achieving control and the definitive elimination of measles and at achieving increased control of neonatal tetanus; this will require allocation of resources in the national budgets to support vaccination programs, including national campaigns, expansion of national surveillance systems, and support for diagnostic laboratories.

6. To thank all the collaborating governmental and nongovernmental agencies, bilateral as well as multilateral, for their ongoing support, and to call on them to maintain and increase this support.

7. To request the Director to:

a) Continue his efforts to mobilize additional resources for the EPI and its disease control and elimination initiatives;

b) Establish a special fund for the control and elimination of measles.

 Having examined Document CD37/17 on health promotion in the Americas;

 Considering that many countries in the Region of the Americas suffer, as a result of lowered living standards, from social and health situations aggravated by the economic crisis and debt of the decade of the 1980s;

 Taking into account that the Member States, in addition to facing the health problems usually associated with poverty, must also confront emerging problems associated with demographic and epidemiological changes, different risk factors, greater incidence of noncommunicable diseases, the consequences of multiple forms of violence, substance abuse, and worsening mental health conditions;

 Recognizing that serious food and nutrition problems persist, especially among low income and other high risk groups; and

 Noting that the International Conference on Health Promotion (Santa Fe de Bogotá, November 1992), the Caribbean Conference (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, June 1993), and the conclusions of the Declaration of Ottawa highlighted the relationship between health and development, as well as the need for solidarity and equity in achieving health and development goals,

1. To urge the Member Governments to:

a) Develop public policies aimed at strengthening health promotion and addressing emerging health problems, including those related to nutrition;

b) Strengthen, in the health sector in general and in the ministries of health in particular, programs intended to foster intersectoral cooperation in health promotion;

c) Formulate policies and plans directed at adapting current public health programs and services to support the conditions essential for healthy living and sustainable health development at the individual and community levels, promoting the "healthy cities" concept;

d) Include social communication and education campaigns promoting the responsibility of the people, as key instruments in community health programs.

2. To ask the Director to:

a) Prepare a regional plan, with concrete objectives and targets that enable monitoring and evaluation of advances made in the countries, and present this plan to the Subcommittee on Planning and Programming and the Executive Committee;

b) Continue his efforts to identify and promote strategies to mobilize national and international resources for health protection and promotion initiatives.

 Having seen Document CD37/13 and its annexes on workers' health;

 Acknowledging the size of the working-age population, the importance of work-related health disorders, the technical and scientific capacity currently available to control occupational risk factors, and the relationship between workers' health and production which is essential for economic development and social progress; and

 Recognizing the strong political support for the Year of Workers' Health and the Declaration on Workers' Health1 by the Heads of State and Government of the countries of the Americas and Europe, by regional and international cooperation agencies, and by the employers and workers in the Member Governments who have collaborated in the preparation and revision of national plans and policies on workers' health,

1. To urge the Member Governments to implement or continue developing national workers' health plans and to give priority to mobilizing the resources necessary for: the framing and enactment of appropriate legislation; manpower training; epidemiological surveys; for the establishment of laboratories and other analytical facilities; and for the promotion of intersectoral coordination as required for the execution of those plans and to provide for disease prevention and health care of workers.

2. To ask the Director, in accordance with the availability of resources from the Organization, to continue to cooperate with the Member Governments in the implementation and development of those national plans, and to assist countries in the mobilization of the financial and technical resources required to support the execution of the national plans.

 Reaffirming and reiterating the concepts and mandates contained in Resolutions CD30.R8, CD31.R18, CD32.R9, CD33.R13, CD35.R16, CSP23.R17, and CD36.R18, on the subjects of population, family planning, maternal and child health, prevention and reduction of maternal mortality, and comprehensive health of adolescents; and

 Taking note of the changes that are occurring in the international and national spheres, as well as the obstacles standing in the way of more rapid progress in the actions necessary in order to attain the goals set by the Governing Bodies of the Organization and the World Summit for Children,

1. To reaffirm that population and family planning activities are indispensable to health, and that family planning should be integrated into health programs and promoted actively under the principle of respect for the rights of individuals and couples.

2. To urge that the Member Governments to:

a) Participate actively in the World Conference on Population, to be held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994, endeavoring to ensure that issues relating to population and health, reproductive health and family planning are duly considered and included under the plans of action on matters of population and development;

b) Review, adjust, and reformulate, as necessary, their policies, plans of action and programs on reproductive health and family planning, emphasizing the improvement of the quality of services, intersectoral coordination including better partnership with governmental, private, for-profit, and nongovernmental organizations, and the search for financing to reach neglected groups and the population that remains uncovered;

c) Develop projects of technical and financial support in the area of family planning, reproductive health, and population to be submitted to bilateral or multilateral cooperation agencies.

3. To request that the Director:

a) Ensure that the Pan American Health Organization provides the necessary technical support so that the issues of population and health, reproductive health, and family planning are included in the proposed regional and global plans of action on population;

b) Collaborate with the countries in situation studies, policy design, and the development of strategies and programs to provide family planning and reproductive health services, integrated with other programs of primary health care and for the prevention of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to the entire population;

c) Continue to contribute to the search for and mobilization of national and international resources in order to make it possible to expand the Organization's activities in these areas.

 Having considered the recommendations of the 111th Meeting of the Executive Committee1 of various uses of arrearage payments by the United States of America,

1. To accept the proposed allocation by the Director of US$ 2,400,000 for the Working Capital Fund.

2. To set aside a reserve from the existing Working Capital Fund to serve as the guarantee for the loans from the Inter-American Development Bank for the Textbook and Instructional Materials Program of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, and to allocate from the Working Capital Fund to this reserve the amount of $4,500,000, which shall serve as an adjustable guarantee for the current and future outstanding balances of the loans.

3. To deposit in the Working Capital Fund payments of arrearages by the United States of America, as outlined in paragraph 1 above, and by other countries, up to the authorized level of the Fund.

4. To authorize the Director to increase gradually the level of the unencumbered Working Capital Fund from $11,000,000 by an amount equal to the sums no longer needed in the reserve described in paragraph 2 above, the total authorized level of the Working Capital Fund not to exceed $15,000,000.

 Considering the revision made to the base/floor salary scale for the professional and higher categories of staff in graded posts, effective 1 March 1993;

 Taking into account the decision by the Executive Committee at its 111th Meeting to adjust the salaries of the Deputy Director and Assistant Director (Resolution XIV);

 Having noted the recommendation of the Executive Committee concerning the salary of the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (Resolution XIV); and

 Bearing in mind the provisions of Staff Rule 330.3,

 To establish the annual net salary of the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau at US$86,914 (dependency rate) and $78,122 (single rate), effective 1 March 1993.

 Having seen Document CD37/19, "Violence and Health," and its Annex, "Report of the Special Subcommittee on Women, Health, and Development";

 Considering that violent behavior is a public health problem of great magnitude and importance in the Region of the Americas and is a cause of economic loss, physical, psychic and social injury, avoidable premature death, and deterioration of the quality of life, among other consequences;

 Recognizing that violence against women is a special problem with serious social repercussions, given the link that exists between discrimination and abuse;

 Recognizing as well that violence against distinct vulnerable groups, especially children, youth, and the elderly, generates specific problems that have a negative impact on their physical, psychological, and social development; and

 Acknowledging that the health sector should play a fundamental role, along with other sectors, in the search for solutions and the application of measures for the prevention and control of all forms of violence,

1. To urge the Member Governments to:

a) Establish national policies and plans for the prevention and control of violence in collaboration with all the sectors involved, and to propose in the ministries of health the formation of working parties to coordinate measures against violence;

b) Give priority to the establishment of policies and programs for the management of violence against women and children, and against adolescents and youth, particularly those aged 15 to 24 years, in collaboration with women's organizations and other relevant groups;

c) Identify and mobilize the necessary resources for establishing multisectoral health promotion and protection programs for the promotion of healthy behaviors, specially among young adult males, discourage exposure to unnecessary risks, and adopt legal measures that support the prevention and control of violence;

d) Strengthen emergency services in health units, including blood banks and referral and counterreferral systems, and treat the psychosocial problems of the victims and their families;

e) Promote the development of epidemiological surveillance and multidisciplinary research on the problem, including the use of alcohol and psychoactive substances, and establish the necessary training programs;

f) Complement the foregoing by generating measures for the analysis and promotion of the positive channeling of information through the mass media.

2. To ask the Director, within the resources available to:

a) Formulate a regional plan of action on violence and health that contains a special component on violence against women and considers all risk groups;

b) Collaborate with the countries on the identification and mobilization of financial resources for the execution of these proposals;

c) Ensure that effective measures are taken in PAHO/WHO for the compilation and dissemination of accurate data, and that before information on specific aspects on countries is released to the press, its accuracy be checked and the consequences for the country concerned considered; and to transmit this request to the Director-General of WHO.