The Church and the Pan American Health Organization of the World Health Organization are exploring the possibility of cooperating to improve public health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The director of the health organization, Dr. George A.O. Alleyne, suggested the possibility of a partnership as he visited Church headquarters Aug. 20 and met with the First Presidency and representatives of the Church's Humanitarian Services and Thrasher Research Fund. Later in the day, he met with representatives of the press.About 3.3 million Church members live in Latin America and the Caribbean, and some 20,000 missionaries are serving in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. A number of Welfare Services programs have been or are in operation in the countries of these areas, including those protecting missionary health and teaching new members about basic sanitation, principles of disease prevention and nutrition, according to Welfare Services.

Dr. Alleyne said he was amazed at "the extent of the humanitarian services offered by your Church; it is a huge operation. We want to see how we can facilitate our humanitarian activities and how we can work together to prevent disease and promote good health."

He said that the Thrasher Research Fund, which the Church administers, shares with the Pan American Health Organization common concerns of micro-nutrient deficiency.

Isaac Ferguson, director of Humanitarian Services for the Church, said that although no formal agreement has been reached, "we've agreed there are things we can probably do together."

The Church's emphasis on strengthening families through health and literacy fit with Dr. Alleyne's efforts to promote health using programs and efforts already underway, said Brother Ferguson.

In commenting to the media after meeting with the First Presidency, Dr. Alleyne was optimistic that specific ways could be agreed upon to improve public health in these areas.

"The basis for any collaboration has to be shared ideals and values," he said. Good health in other countries is "in our basic self-interest. All countries should be interested in improving health. We should have the feeling that we are all one people. We should all be concerned about ill health. Equity of health services is a burning concern of ours."

He emphasized that the organization is not seeking funds, but cooperation in such basic health areas as sanitation and disease prevention. He is particularly concerned with adolescent health.

"The same way ad agencies target adolescents, we want to make adolescents a major target . . . to prevent the beginnings of noxious behavior, and we are concerned with such things as prevention of tobacco use."

He said that the organization generally works through governments, and forming partnerships with churches is new, but it is also exploring partnerships with Catholic and Jewish faiths.

"All these experiences in working with religions have been positive," he said. "We can't divide up religions; we hope to work with all religions eventually."

He said the upshot of all of this is that "if we put our hearts, hands and heads together, we can make some changes for better health in the Americas."