Strategic Alliance IICA/PAHO for Human Development and Prosperity in Rural Communities

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), both aware of the need to pool their capabilities in support of efforts to promote the development of their Member States, have decided to work more closely and systematically together in contributing to human development and prosperity in the rural communities of the Americas.

The two organizations have a long history of providing cooperation in the hemisphere: IICA, for 60 years in the field of agriculture and rural development: and PAHO, for 100 years in the area of health.

Background and Mission

PAHO is the agency of the Inter-American System dedicated to improving the health and living conditions of the peoples of the Americas. It is recognized internationally as a member of the United Nations System and serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.

PAHO's mission is to lead strategic collaborative efforts among Member States and other partners to promote equity in health, to combat disease, and to improve the quality of and lengthen the lives of the peoples of the Americas.

IICA, founded in 1942, has grown over the years and is now a leading institute in its field, generating initiatives for agricultural development in the hemisphere. Faced with the global challenges of the 21^st century, it has adopted a new vision that calls for the development of a culture of cooperation, partnerships, shared responsibilities and a common program for channeling the energies of its Member States towards promoting prosperity in the rural sector.

IICA's mission is to support its Member States in their pursuit of progress and prosperity through the modernization of the rural sector, the promotion of food security, and the development of an agricultural sector that is competitive, technologically prepared, environmentally managed, and socially equitable for the peoples of the Americas. (more on IICA)

Common Goals

IICA and PAHO have collaborated for many years on different activities related to public health, animal health, and food safety. Both play critical and complementary roles in the areas of health and agricultural development that extend beyond those traditional fields of collaboration and are essential for prosperity in rural communities.

In addition, both organizations have a network of offices in their Member States that facilitate joint actions.

PAHO and IICA signed a General Cooperation Agreement of unlimited duration in 1983. Two of its objectives are to contribute of increasing the making better use of food production, and to improve health and rural life in their Member States.

Facing Challenges as Partners

At the political level, the two organizations serve as the secretariats of their respective ministerial meetings on health and agriculture and rural life. In addition, at the Third Summit of the Americas (held in Canada in April 2001), they were both called upon to support implementation of the Summit's Plan of Action.

IICA and PAHO fully support the commitment assumed by the Heads of State and Government in the Declaration of the Third Summit:

To further efforts to reach international development goals, especially the reduction by 50% by the year 2015 of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty.
To promote programs for the improvement of agriculture, rural life, and agro-business as an essential contribution to poverty reduction and integral development.

Accordingly, PAHO and IICA reaffirm the importance of pooling their capabilities in support of efforts to further development in their Member States, and their commitment to the following:

The principle of Pan Americanism, which calls for cooperating with the countries of the Americas so that, in working together, they can promote their development.
Equitable development and the achievement of the objectives of health for all in the hemisphere, and the reduction of differences in health indicators among and within countries.
The promotion of prosperity in rural communities, including a reduction of inequalities among their inhabitants and, above all, increasing human freedoms.

Joint Plan of Action

IICA and PAHO will strengthen their joint technical-cooperation actions, with a view to helping the countries of the Americas achieve health and prosperity in their rural communities. They will do this by supporting the efforts of the ministries of agriculture and health, with the active participation of rural communities.

The Plan of Action sets the parameters for the cooperation, which will focus on actions in the following areas:

Animal Health, Public Health: Zoonoses and Food Safety: IICA and PAHO will exchange information, ideas and experiences in the respective areas of specialization. Also, they will carry out a number of action in these areas whose results will have a favorable impact on the agricultural sector, nutrition and public health in rural communities and, consequently, on national economies. These actions include the following:

To strengthen the management skills of those who occupy executive or supervisory position in national agricultural health and veterinary public health and food-safety programs, with a view to making them more efficient and effective.

To foster more active participation by the members of agrifood chains in agricultural health processes, in order to improve the safety of products and, as a result, public health and access to markets.

To strengthen the use of information in the agricultural epidemiological surveillance systems.

Joint Actions with the Framework of the Summits Process: This includes the exchange of information and the participation of both organizations in preparatory activities and in the ministerial meetings on health and agriculture and rural life. It also includes the exchange of information on progress in, and possible joint actions for, complying with the mandates of the summits, including efforts to increase the participation of civil society, especially the private sector.
Mechanisms for Planning, Programming, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Performance Management: This involves the exchange of experiences in these areas, and of information useful in developing the IICA evaluation system and the support instruments for managing organizational performance.
Exchange of Information and Experiences: This refers to exchanges of information, joint events using the infrastructure of both organizations, and collaboration in providing logistic support services for technical meetings and activities.

For printing and distribution purposes, the bilingual color brochure (English-Spanish) containing the above information is available in PDF format.