Private company

Pan American Health Organization

Logo: Font: Adrian Frutiger Logotype: Pan American Health Organization, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons⁴

Public health agency for the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and noncommunicable diseases, strengthen health systems, and respond to emergencies and disasters. PAHO has 35 Member States and four Associate Members in the region.² It is part of World Health Organization.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

Dec 2, 1902Founded¹

HeadquartersWashington, D.C.¹
Websitewww.paho.org/en
Legal formInternational Organization³
Kind of organizationInternational organization¹
LEI549300PX4WGXJNU7GL82³
StatusActive³
LEI statusIssued and current³
Registered address525 23rd St NW, 20037 Washington, United States³

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Corporate structure

Pan American Health Organization is part of a group headed by United Nations. 101 entities, 34 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

United Nations New York, New York, United States
- World Health Organization Geneva
  - Pan American Health Organization Washington, the District of Columbia, United States
    - PAHO Women, Health and Development Program Subsidiary · Honduras
  - World Health Organization - Morocco Subsidiary
  - Africa Regional Certification Commission Subsidiary
  - Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research Subsidiary · Geneva, Switzerland
  - Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis Subsidiary
  - International Agency for Research on Cancer Subsidiary · France
  - International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Subsidiary · Geneva, Switzerland
  - Surveillance system for attacks on health care Subsidiary
  - WHO African Region Subsidiary
  - WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Subsidiary
  - WHO European Region Subsidiary
  - WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Subsidiary · Germany
  - WHO Region of the Americas Subsidiary
  - WHO South-East Asian Region Subsidiary
  - WHO Western Pacific Region Subsidiary
  - World Health Assembly Subsidiary · Switzerland
  - World Health Organization (France) Subsidiary · Lyon, France
  - World Health Organization Academy Subsidiary · 7th arrondissement of Lyon, France
  - World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa Subsidiary · Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
  - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe Subsidiary · Denmark
  - World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia Subsidiary · India
  - World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Subsidiary · Egypt
  - World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Subsidiary · Philippines
  - MedNet Owned
- International Monetary Fund Subsidiary · Washington, the District of Columbia, United States
- UNICEF Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
  - GIGA Subsidiary
  - Polish National Committee for UNICEF Subsidiary · Poland
  - U-Report Subsidiary · Senegal
  - UNICEF Australia Subsidiary · Australia
  - UNICEF Belgium Subsidiary · Belgium
  - UNICEF Canada Subsidiary · Canada
  - UNICEF France Subsidiary · France
  - UNICEF India Subsidiary · India
  - UNICEF Ireland Subsidiary · Ireland
  - UNICEF Netherlands National Committee Subsidiary
  - UNICEF Pakistan Subsidiary · Pakistan
  - UNICEF Sweden Subsidiary · Stockholm Municipality, Sweden
  - UNICEF Thailand Subsidiary · Thailand
  - UNICEF UK Subsidiary · United Kingdom
  - UNICEF USA Subsidiary · United States
- United Nations Postal Administration Subsidiary · Headquarters of the United Nations
- United Nations University Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
  - United Nations University Press Subsidiary
  - Global Environmental Outreach Centre Subsidiary · Tokyo, Japan
  - Institute for Environment and Human Security Subsidiary · Bonn, Germany
  - United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility Subsidiary · Barcelona, Spain
  - United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology Subsidiary · Macau, China
  - United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Europe Subsidiary · Bonn, Germany
  - UNU-FLORES Subsidiary · Dresden, Germany
  - World Institute for Development Economics Research Subsidiary · Helsinki, Finland
- Cambodian Mine Action Centre Subsidiary · Cambodia
- Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Subsidiary
- Department of Field Support Subsidiary
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Subsidiary · Rome, Italy
- Global Occult Coalition Subsidiary
- Helix Security International Subsidiary
- Human Rights Office Abkhazia, Georgia Subsidiary · Georgia
- International Atomic Energy Agency Subsidiary · Austria
- International Cocoa Council Subsidiary
- International Coffee Organization Subsidiary
- International Court of Justice Subsidiary · The Hague
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Subsidiary · Rwanda
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Subsidiary · South Holland
- International Refugee Organization Subsidiary
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Subsidiary · Bezirk Mitte, Germany
- Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel Subsidiary
- Special Adviser on Africa Subsidiary
- Syrian Constitutional Committee Subsidiary · Syria
- UN COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force Subsidiary
- and 28 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The organization was founded in December 1902. It was originally called the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau. It has been described as the world's first international public health organization.

In 1949, PAHO and WHO signed an agreement making PAHO the American Regional Office (AMRO) of WHO. Today the usual phrasing is "Regional Office for the Americas". The first hemisphere-wide effort to eradicate smallpox was made in 1950 by the PAHO. The campaign was successful in eliminating smallpox from all countries of the Americas except Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador.

In October 2024, health authorities in the Americas expanded PAHO's funding to help the Organization accelerate access to health technologies, particularly in response to public health emergencies and disease outbreaks.

From Wikipedia’s article on Pan American Health Organization, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁵

Leadership

Who has led Pan American Health Organization, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chair

197019801990200020102020

ChairJarbas Barbosa da Silva Júnior 2023 to now¹
ChairFred Soper 1947 to 1959¹
ChairRupert Blue 1912 to 1920¹

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

World Health Organization

Subsidiaries

PAHO Women, Health and Development Program
Pan American Health Organization

From Wikidata.¹

Timeline

Dec 2, 1902Founded Founded¹

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataPan American Health Organization on Wikidata
2
WikipediaPan American Health Organization on Wikipedia
3
GLEIFPan American Health Organization LEI record (549300PX4WGXJNU7GL82)
4
Wikimedia CommonsPan American Health Organization logo by Font: Adrian Frutiger Logotype: Pan American Health Organization, Public domain
5
WikipediaPan American Health Organization on Wikipedia (revision used)
6
Wikimedia CommonsPan American Health Organization photo by Ruhrfisch ( talk ), CC BY-SA 4.0