Washington, March 25, 2013 — The Fifth Technical Advisory Group Meeting on Gender Equality in Health (GEH/TAG) wrapped up a two-day meeting on 19 March with a renewed commitment to advancing gender equality in health throughout Latin America and Caribbean.

Issues tabled were advances in the region, the final evaluation of the PAHO Gender Equality Plan of Action (PoA) and key elements for a new PoA (2015-2019). Some salient themes identified for a future gender equality plan were data and evidence on inequalities; capacity-building; prioritization of health programs with greater gender gaps; leadership; stronger alliances with civil society; and increased accountability.

Washington, D.C. January 31, 2013. To achieve effective delivery of healthcare services, it is fundamental to have competent managers and enabling environments for them to lead and manage efficiently.

It is widely recognized that management plays a crucial role in the achievement of health goals and the improvement of the health and wellbeing of populations.  Healthcare delivery services face critical situations and challenges, high among them insufficient number of managers with appropriate competencies, poor support systems and lack of enabling conditions and environments for effective discharge of their responsibilities.  This in turn leads to poor performance and inefficiencies and consequently affects the health situation of the population.