The Pan American Sanitary Code was signed ad referendum by 18 countries of the Americas in the assembly hall of the former Academy of Medical, Physical, and Natural Sciences (now the Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Museum of Science History) on 14 November 1924 in Havana, Cuba, during the Seventh Pan American Sanitary Conference. The Code, which was eventually ratified by all the republics of the Americas and remains in force today, represents the greatest achievement in health policy-making in the American hemisphere and the cul-mination of decades of international initiatives aimed at prolonging people’s lives and ensuring their happiness.