The objectives are:

The Workers' Health Program at PAHO invites all parties to participate in a dynamic, creative and inter-sectoral initiative to promote human sustainable development from the Canadian Arctic to Argentine's Tierra del Fuego through the initiative of their Regional Plan. The Regional Plan is committed to promoting equitable occupational health for the Region of the Americas through a preventative approach to health care. The desirability of a healthy continental community necessitates that workplaces be safe environments for workers', and that human capital be optimized. The benefits of a healthy workforce include higher productivity and fewer social costs, as well as increased well being for all members of society. Indeed, good health is an essential part of progress.

The high burden and impact of violence on the society at large and the public health sector in particular, led to the need to break paradigms and find out new ways to face this problem. The public health approach has been adopted and applied by PAHO at country level. Emphasis on prevention strategies rather than merely on repression, is the main message that PAHO has highlighted since 1994 and recently reinforced on the launchings of the WHO's World Report on Violence and Health (WHO, 2002), in countries of the Americas.

Road Safety
Almost 130,000 people die, 1,200,000 had injuries and thousands of them have permanent disabilities caused in traffic crashes, in our Region. This means that this is an important public health problem. Nonetheless, fortunately there are very well known interventions and policies that may help alleviate this situation. The World Report on Road Traffic Injuries Prevention (WHO and WB, 2004), contain recommendations and guidance for decision makers. PAHO is fully committed for Safer Roads in the Americas.

Globalization has favored the health of the nations in some aspects, but has also created new challenges for public health. An important group of public health problems that have worsened due to globalization of trade and markets are emerging as relatively new and significant threats to sustainable development. These are health problems essentially related to consumption of unhealthy but legal products that have appeared in the market massively due to its aggressive marketing, its great availability, and affordability. Among these consumer products are some foods of little nutritional value, high in calories, fats, or sugars, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. Tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke is one of the main preventable health problems of avoidable in the Americas, where it kills 1.1 million people per year. The proportion of young people who regularly smokes as early as 13 to 15 years of age ranges between 30 and 40% in many countries of the region. This prevalence is growing especially among women. In the majority of the countries there are more smokers among the poor that among the rich.