HHS Secretary Leavitt Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Central American Ministers of Health

HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and Central American Ministers met on October 2, 2007, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen public health surveillance, laboratory systems, and response capacity in the Central American region. Seated from left to right: the Minister of Public Health, Republic of Honduras, the Honorable Jenny Meza Paguada, M.D.; Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance, Republic of El Salvador, the Honorable José Guillermo Maza Brizuela, M.D.; the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt; the Director-General, Ministry of Health, Republic of Costa Rica, the Honorable Rossana García González, M.D.; and the Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance, Republic of Guatemala, the Honorable Alfredo Antonio Privado Medrano.

October 3, 2007 – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt met yesterday with the Ministers of Health of the countries of Central America in support of President Bush’s Initiative to Advance the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere.

Secretary Leavitt and the Central American Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that formally establishes a partnership between HHS and their ministries to strengthen public health surveillance, laboratory systems, and response capacity for priority diseases and conditions in the region, and to support the Regional Health-Care Training Center (RHCTC), inaugurated in June 2007 in Panamá City, Panamá. The MOU establishes the model of governance of the RHCTC, including the membership of its Governance Board, and suggests the formation of a Technical Advisory Group for the Center.

Secretary Leavitt thanked the Ministers for working together with the United States to make the Regional Health-Care Training Center a reality, and asked them for their input on the content of the curriculum for the RHCTC for 2008.

A total of 150 students have received training on influenza preparedness and response at the RHCTC during Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, from all six Central American countries. Experts from Central America and the United States, including from HHS, U.S. academic centers, and the U.S. Department of Defense Southern Command, have served as faculty of the RHCTC this year.

Last revised: October 09, 2007