In May 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will host a regional meeting in Brasilia, Brazil to promote the use of genomics in clinical medicine and public health. The initiative, titled “Human Genomics for Health: Enhancing the Impact of Effective Research,” is the first of its kind in the Americas.
Genomics is a rapidly growing field that focuses on understanding an organism’s complete set of genes, known as the genome. It studies how genes function, interact with each other, and with the environment. Unlike genetics, which looks at individual genes, genomics examines all genes in an organism.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Science Council has established a program to promote equitable access to genomics research and technologies worldwide. The publication “Accelerating Access to Genomics for Global Health, 2022” highlights how genomics can contribute to clinical care, ancestry studies, human genetic variation research, food safety monitoring, infection control measures and global public health goals.
Dr. Sebastian Garcia Saiso, Director of EIH (Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health) at PAHO stated that this upcoming regional meeting in Brasilia will play a critical role in advancing genomics in the Americas. Over two days, representatives from PAHO Member States and regional experts will collaborate to set the agenda for promoting genomics research and precision medicine in the region. Dr. Ludovic Reveiz, Advisor for Health Research at EIH/PAHO added that genomic knowledge and technologies offer new approaches to diagnosing diseases, preventing them from occurring or spreading further and treating them more effectively; they also provide opportunities to achieve global public health goals through precision medicine field experts’ support provided by PAHO’s SK/EIH unit with WHO’s assistance through their office in Brazil and Brazilian Ministry of Health organized this meeting .