The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has two components: (1) The Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB), founded in 1902, serves as the health agency affiliated with the Organization of the American States (OAS); in 1947, the PASB became the Regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas. (2) The Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination office.

In October 1976, the Directing Council of PAHO, “anxious that the international assistance given to countries affected by natural disasters should be better coordinated, rational, and more effective”, requested that the Director set up a “disaster unit with instructions to define the policy of the Organization, to formulate a plan of action for the various types of disasters, to make an inventory of the human and other resources available, to train the necessary personnel, to prepare and disseminate the appropriate guidelines and manuals, and to promote operational research.” In March 1977, a permanent office for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination was established at PAHO Headquarters in Washington, D.C.