SIR GEORGE A. O. ALLEYNE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT THE NINTH OAS LECTURE SERIES OF THE AMERICAS
Washington, October 11, 2005

"Health is instrumental in its own right in contributing to wealth and other aspects of human development," confirmed the Barbadian-born Dr. George A. O. Alleyne, head of PAHO from 1995 to 2003 and currently Chancellor of the University of the West Indies in his lecture on "Health for Development" at the Ninth Conference of the Lecture Series of the Americas October 11, 2005.

In his address, Dr. Alleyne sustained that a health is as much a driver as a consequence of economic growth and people freedoms and also confirmed human development as one of the legitimate aspirations of the Americas will not be achieved when there are such marked health disparities and gross inequalities between countries and within countries. During his presentation, Dr. Alleyne also underscored important ways in which health affects such key issues as democracy, security and the environment, arguing that "the health inequities that are often seen within a country are major causes of social unrest and can threaten internal security."

As part of an agreement among FUNGLODE and its sister organization in the United States, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, GFDD, and the OAS, the presentation was broadcast from the auditorium at FUNGLODE in Santo Domingo and was followed by a lively discussion among the public and the members of the panel, Angel Almánzar, Director, General Direction for Control of Sexually Transmitted Deseases; Rafael Schiffino, Undersecretary of State for Public Health, Ministry of Health; and Celia Riera, Epidemiologist with PAHO.