Brazilian Jarbas Barbosa elected as new director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Brazilian physician Jarbas Barbosa was elected director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the main body for continental cooperation on health issues, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.

“The result reflects the international recognition of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the implementation of health diplomacy, one of the priorities of the Brazilian government,” a Brazilian Foreign Ministry statement said.

Barbosa was elected at the 30th Pan-American Sanitary Conference in Washington, United States.

Barbosa had served as PAHO’s deputy director since 2018 and as Brazil’s secretary for health surveillance at the Ministry of Health and secretary for science and technology.

PAHO, founded in 1902, also serves as the World Health Organization’s regional office for the Americas.

Barbosa will succeed Carissa Etienne of Dominica and serve a five-year term that begins Feb. 1, 2023; re-election is possible.

The Brazilian physician is a graduate of the Federal University of Pernambuco and a specialist in public health and epidemiology at the National School of Health of the State Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Rio de Janeiro.

He also holds a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences and a Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Campinas (Unicamp), São Paulo State.