Guillermo Gonzalez congratulated PAHO Director, Mirta Roses, on her annual report and the Organization's work during the past year. "The issue of human and sanitary security is an important point, a milestone that should mark the new challenges that our governments must carry out to ensure the health of our people," he said.

The head of the Nicaraguan delegation stressed the importance of human development. "It is essential that the people walk alongside us, becoming subjects of the interventions and help to make them sustainable over time," he remarked, adding: "This approach will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)."