Former PAHO Director, Dr Carissa Etienne, has died

Dr Carissa Etienne, former Director of the Pan American Health Organisation and WHO’s Regional Director for the Americas, has died.

The 71-year-old from Dominica passed away in the US in the early hours of Friday morning.

Dr Etienne collapsed in her bathroom during the night, hours after being given a clean bill of health by her doctor after undergoing back surgery earlier this year, a close friend said.

She was rushed to hospital by ambulance where she died a short time later.

Dr Etienne was in her second five-year term as PAHO director.

She was a passionate advocate for universal health coverage and a much-loved daughter of the soil among the nature isle’s residents.