The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and noncommunicable diseases, strengthen health systems, and respond to emergencies and disasters. It has 35 Member States and four Associate Members in the region. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., PAHO is the regional office for the World Health Organization in the Americas, and the health organization of the Inter-American System. It is known in Latin America as the OPS () or OPAS (). Description PAHO has scientific and technical expertise at its headquarters, in its 27 country offices, and its three Pan American centers, all working with the countries of the americas in dealing with priority health issues. The health authorities of PAHO's Member States set PAHO's technical and administrative policies through its governing bodies. The PAHO Member States include all 35 countries in the Americas; Puerto Rico is an associate member. France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the participating states, and Portugal and Spain are the observer states. 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. PAHO promotes universal health coverage and universal access to health and strengthening of health systems based on primary health care strategies. It assists countries in fighting infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, dengue, HIV and tuberculosis as well as the region's growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. PAHO engages in technical cooperation with ministries of health and facilitates coordination with other sectors to promote health in all policies. PAHO also promotes the use of research evidence to inform health care decisions and policymaking through the implementation of knowledge translation strategies such as the Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet). Through the Elimination Initiative, it targets HIV/AIDS. In its efforts to improve health, PAHO targets the most vulnerable groups including mothers and children, workers, the poor, the elderly, refugees, and displaced persons. It focuses on issues related to equity for those who lack access to health, and on a Pan-American approach, encouraging countries to work together on common issues and