Three journalists whose reports examine the underlying causes of antimicrobial resistance in Latin America won the 2011 Latin American Health Journalism Awards, sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Red-Salud, the Communication Initiative, and the Imaginary Foundation.

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling for renewed commitment from all sectors of society to create supportive environments for breastfeeding, including in worksites, parks, public transportation, health services and other places outside the home where mothers of young children carry out their daily lives. The call for action comes at the start of World Breastfeeding Week 2011.

As many as 2 billion people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B—one of five types of hepatitis virus—and more than 350 million suffer a chronic form of the disease. Yet public awareness is low, and much more public health action is needed to prevent and control viral hepatitis, said experts at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in observance of World Hepatitis Day.

A regional consultation will be held with the countries of the Hemisphere from November to December 2011 to discuss the plan of action for the Decade of Vaccines, an initiative sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has already pledged $10 billion to research, development, and the distribution of vaccines in the coming years.