World · The Americas

Five countries and territories in the Americas recognised for eliminating diseases

Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands have each been recognised for ending a disease as a public health problem.

Published 6 November 2026 · Original report 29 September 2026 · 3 min read

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Originally reported by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on 29 September 2026

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The Pan American Health Organization has recognised five countries and territories in the Americas for eliminating diseases. Brazil and The Bahamas were recognised for ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Chile was recognised for eliminating leprosy and dog-transmitted rabies as public health problems, and El Salvador for eliminating trachoma. The Turks and Caicos Islands were recognised for ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV and hepatitis B. The World Health Organization certified, validated or verified each achievement. Elimination as a public health problem means the disease is no longer common enough to threaten the population, and the work behind it took years of testing, treatment and monitoring. The PAHO announcement sets out each country's result.

Why we picked this: Five places, several diseases and years of work. Proof that elimination is possible.

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Five countries and territories in the Americas recognised for eliminating diseases

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