Health officials from throughout the Americas agreed today to take a series of actions to prepare their countries to cope with and mitigate the health effects of climate change.

Top health officials from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean have endorsed a series of actions that the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) says could significantly reduce the public health impact of alcohol.

Health officials from countries throughout the Americas have pledged new efforts to reduce the burden of malaria and to protect progress already made against the disease through a strategy and plan of action approved during the 51st Directing Council meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The countries of the Americas, with support from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), will work together to create national programs for care and treatment of epilepsy, a neurological disorder affects some 50 million people in the world, of whom 5 million reside in the Americas.