June 23/2003: -One of Dominica's most prominent medical professionals will take up the third highest position at the hemisphere's oldest public health agency, the Sun can disclose.

    Doctor Carissa Etienne has confirmed to the Sun that she has accepted an appointment as assistant director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) effective July 2, 2003.

    "As a practitioner it provides the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the region," said Etienne, who will be based in Washington D.C, United States of America.

    "It is an honour for (me) and for the country and I think it speaks to the contribution that we have made as a small country to the development of health both regionally and internationally," she said.

    The PAHO executive board, which includes Dominica's minister of health, Herbert Sabroache is scheduled to meet in Washington today and Etienne will most likely be introduced to the members, an executive board member told the Sun. The board is responsible for employing the directors.

    "It is significant, and very significant at that, for someone from Dominica and the region (to be appointed to that position)," said the board member of Etienne's appointment to the 100-year-old PAHO, which works to improve health and living standards of the people of the Americas.

    The Organization's essential mission is to strengthen national and local health systems and improve the health of the peoples of the Americas, in collaboration with Ministries of Health, other government and international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, social security agencies, community groups, and many others, the organization states on its website.

    It promotes primary health care strategies, which reach people in their communities through decentralization of health services, and encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own health.

    The PAHO board member told the Sun that Etienne's vast experience in health care, including her role in spearheading the establishment of primary health care services and the planning, organization and management of the delivery of primary health care services in Dominica, made her the ideal choice for the position.

    "Dr. Etienne's role can be one of great significance. It will raise the profile of the country and the profile of the ministry of health in Dominica," said a senior Dominican policy maker.

    "(For a Dominican) to hold the third highest position in the organization, words cannot describe how that feels. It will also raise the profile of women," the official told the Sun, adding that for the first time in its 100 year history, PAHO also has a woman (Dr. Mirta Roses Periago of Argentina) as its director.

    As the Assistant Director, Etienne will have responsibility for four areas: Family and Community Health (FCH), Disease Prevention and Control (DCP), Sustainable Development and Environmental Health (SDE), and Technology and Health Services Delivery (THS).

    She will be a member of executive management and will ensure that programme plans and budgets of the four areas are prepared and executed according to organizational procedures and that coordination among the four areas is optimal.

    Her responsibilities also include promoting collaboration with areas and units in other offices and with entities outside PAHO, providing strategic guidance for the development of public health interventions at regional and country level and ensuring their consistency with global mandates.