Member countries commend PAHO for transparency in financial management

The Subcommittee on Program, Budget and Administration, part of PAHO's Executive Committee, is meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 16 to 18 to review the Organization's budget and work program and to make recommendations to the Executive Committee in these areas.

The subcommittee's current members are Mexico, Paraguay, the United States, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Panama, Guatemala, and Venezuela. Although they are not members, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Suriname also have representatives observing the meeting. On the meeting's first day, Mexico's representative was elected as president of the subcommittee, the United States was elected as vice-president, and Panama as rapporteur.

PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses thanked the members for participating in the meeting and noted the importance of their deliberations. "This is not a favorite subject of health experts, but it is very important for the Organization's work," she said. "It's important to have the right mix and to take time to discuss this so we can better prepare for the Executive Committee."

Dr. Roses said the objective of this week's meeting is to provide the most detailed information possible to facilitate the Executive Committee's discussions about PAHO's budget.

Discussions on the meeting's first day focused on the Draft Proposed Program and Budget 2012-2013, the Overview of the Financial Report of the Director for 2010, the Status of the Implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), the Master Capital Investment Plan, and the status of projects funded from the PAHO Holding Account.

Representatives from the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as from other countries, commended PAHO for its transparency in managing its finances and projects. They particularly applauded PAHO's use of external auditors.

The Subcommittee on Program, Budget and Administration is an auxiliary advisory body of the PAHO Executive Committee with responsibility for aspects of Program, Budget and Administration. It reviews and as appropriate, makes recommendations to the Executive Committee in these areas. The Subcommittee consists of seven Members, four of whom have terns of office running concurrently with those of their membership on the Executive and three designated annually by the Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau in consultation with the President of the Executive Committee in order to seek balanced and adequate geographical distribution. The Subcommittee holds at least one public session a year on dates to be decided by the Executive Committee. Additional sessions may be convened in the years when the Program Budget of the Organization is being considered.