"This has not been a quiet year," said Dr. Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), remembering the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and the floods in Brazil, where PAHO's work was instrumental in the prevention of epidemics resulting from these natural disasters. "It was an international effort," he emphasized.

He added that health issues are not isolated from the issues of poverty, discrimination and violence experienced by some regions of the world.

"This continent has more deaths from violence than those who are at war," he said.