{"id":12107,"date":"2026-03-18T20:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=12107"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T16:03:43","slug":"united-nations-agencies-open-joint-headquarters-in-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/news\/united-nations-agencies-open-joint-headquarters-in-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"United Nations Agencies Open Joint Headquarters in Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two major United Nations agencies inaugurated a new joint regional headquarters in Panama on Monday. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) now share a facility at the City of Knowledge (Panama), a move officials say will enhance regional cooperation on health and disaster preparedness.<\/p>\n<p>The opening ceremony gathered national authorities, UN system representatives, the diplomatic corps, and international cooperation partners. Attendees included Panama&#8217;s Minister of Health, Fernando Boyd Galindo, and the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, Carlos Guevara Mann.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12105\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12105\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12105\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1.webp\" alt=\"united nations new office 2\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1.webp 1200w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-2-1200x800-1-450x300.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12105\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">by mire gob pa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Strategic Alliance for Regional Security<\/h2>\n<p>Officials framed the co-location as a strategic step to merge public health and disaster risk reduction efforts. They argued this integrated approach is critical for a region vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes, and pandemics.<\/p>\n<p>UNDRR Director Paola Albrito emphasized the necessity of collaborative work during the inauguration.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Cooperation is essential to face global challenges, especially in a vulnerable region. Only through joint efforts between governments, communities, and international organizations is it possible to protect sustainable development,&#8221; Albrito said. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>PAHO&#8217;s Director of Health Emergencies, Ciro Ugarte, highlighted the practical benefits of the partnership. He pointed to past successes where combined planning saved lives.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The true impact of this work lies in preventing human and material losses. Investment in adaptable infrastructure and training has saved lives during disasters and health emergencies,&#8221; Ugarte stated. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The move immediately strengthens Panama&#8217;s role as a regional hub. The country already serves as a logistical center for humanitarian assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12104\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12104\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12104\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1.webp\" alt=\"united nations new office 3\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1.webp 1200w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/united-nations-new-office-3-1200x800-1-450x300.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">by mire gob pa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Panama as a Multilateral Hub<\/h2>\n<p>Panamanian leaders welcomed the agencies as a reinforcement of the country&#8217;s international position. Jorge Arosemena, President of the City of Knowledge Foundation, said the campus was designed for exactly this kind of multilateral exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Health Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/environment\/panamas-20-4m-emergency-fix-for-hazardous-medical-waste-crisis\/\" rel=\"internal\">boyd galindo<\/a> underscored Panama&#8217;s commitment to building regional capacity. He noted the headquarters will be central for coordinating effective responses to future crises.<\/p>\n<p>Vice Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panamas-diplomatic-mission-to-turkey-aims-for-tech-breakthroughs\/\" rel=\"internal\">guevara mann<\/a> connected the initiative to broader global frameworks. He explicitly linked the collaboration to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. His comments affirmed Panama&#8217;s dedication to multilateralism at a time of global challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Following the speeches, guests toured the new collaborative offices. The facilities are designed to foster joint action and streamline the agencies&#8217; regional operations.<\/p>\n<p>This consolidation is expected to improve efficiency for both the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pan_American_Health_Organization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pan American Health Organization<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.undrr.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction<\/a>. Their work at the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/City_of_Knowledge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">City of Knowledge (Panama)<\/a> will focus on creating synergies between health security and disaster resilience programs across Latin America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two major United Nations agencies inaugurated a new joint regional headquarters in Panama on Monday. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) now share a facility at the City of Knowledge (Panama), a move officials say will enhance regional cooperation on health and disaster preparedness. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,87,29],"tags":[3295,3297,50,514,3296],"class_list":{"0":"post-12107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-featured","9":"category-politics-government","10":"tag-disaster-preparedness","11":"tag-paho-undrr-panama","12":"tag-panama","13":"tag-united-nations","14":"tag-united-nations-agencies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12108,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12107\/revisions\/12108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}