The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, has warned that the Americas, including the Caribbean, are not on track to meet global targets on maternal health and mortality.
Speaking at a high-level event on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate, Dr. Etienne highlighted the aggravating effect of COVID-19 on the health of women, children, and adolescents in the region.
She said the pandemic has placed these groups at greater risk and threatens to reverse gains made in the past decades.
Dr. Etienne said young women were left particularly vulnerable, as disruptions to family planning services fuelled one of the largest increases in teenage pregnancy in more than a decade.
