The Burgeoning Bureau (1920 - 1946)
 
Chronology of events
 
The Americas experienced a period of accelerated economic growth during the 1920’s as a result of a dramatic expansion of agriculture and industry. Acknowledgement that labor was the indispensable tool for development prompted countries to become increasingly concerned with assuring the health of their work force.

Health conditions at the beginning of the 1930’s included plague in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Chile; yellow fever, mostly in Brazil; typhus in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the United States; undulant fever in the United States; onchocerciasis in Guatemala and Mexico; malaria in many of the countries; tuberculosis and smallpox in practically all of them; measles and whooping cough in all the countries; and an increasing cancer death rate throughout the Region.

During the early 1940’s, the Bureau continued to adapt to changing health conditions in the countries and to the growing public health needs of their populations. The decrease in incidence of cases and deaths due to quarantinable diseases continued; however, many diseases were on the increase and causing problems; including;

 
Chronology of Events
1920 Sixth International Sanitary Conference – Montevideo, Uruguay 
    Dr. Hugh S. Cumming elected as Director of the Bureau
1922
    Maiden issue of Boletin Panamericano de Sanidad, recognized importance of Bureau in facilitating information exchange with the countries of the regions
1923 Seventh Conference – Pan American Sanitary Conference 

- name of Bureau changed to Pan American Sanitary Bureau

1924
    Boletin began publishing resolutions of PASC and monthly journal changed name to Boletin de la Oficin Sanitaria Panamericana 
    Director began summarizing the known health conditions in the countries
1926
    Establishment of a statistics service and naming of epidemiologic assistants in the countries.
1927 Eighth Conference – Lima, Peru 
    Established Directing Council which drafted the "Constitution and Status of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau".
1934 Ninth Conference  
    Approved "Constitution and Status"
1936
    National Directors of Health debated a subject that was to have increasing importance in later years; local health system
1942 Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics 
    Adopted two resolutions that recognized the hemispheric accomplishments of the Bureau and ensure the independence of the Bureau in later years with the creation of the World Health Organziation
    Provision of raw materials, services, and funds by the governments to deal with problems of public health and sanitation 
    Use of technical aid and advise of national health services of each country in cooperation with the Pan American Sanitary Bureau