The Joint Subregional Cooperation Strategy that will provide a coordinated framework for technical cooperation to address common public health challenges in the Caribbean was signed today by the Director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, and Dr. Carla N. Barnett, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The Strategy will cover the 15 CARICOM Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as its five associate members: Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“This signing marks a milestone in a long-standing partnership rooted in trust, mutual respect, and a shared vision for the health and well-being of the peoples of the Caribbean,” said Dr. Barbosa during the signing ceremony, which took place during the PAHO Director’s official visit to Guyana this week.
“The Caribbean faces unique and interconnected public health challenges – from the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, to the ongoing threat of climate change, to the need for digital transformation and stronger, more resilient health systems,” the Director added. “These challenges do not stop at borders, and neither can our solutions.”
Thanking Dr. Barbosa for his ongoing collaboration, Dr. Carla N. Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM highlighted that this agreement “is a landmark moment in our partnership with PAHO, which has been instrumental in focusing our health policies and our public health delivery, and ensuring we can take care of the health of the people of the community.”
For Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Health of Guyana, “this strategy affirms that health is not just a service, it is a right. In the Caribbean, that right must not be dictated by where you live, by your income, or your age.”
The cooperation strategy outlines five strategic priorities for the Organization’s technical cooperation in the subregion:
- Enhancing resilience of primary health care-based health systems
This hinges on several key areas: bolstering evidence-based decision-making, fostering robust workforce policies and training for a resilient health workforce, implementing a comprehensive digital transformation policy, and ensuring widespread access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines, and health technologies.
- Advancing climate adaptation, mitigation, disaster preparedness and response to enhance environmental sustainability, and health security.
This will focus on climate emergency preparedness, as well as the implementation of climate adaptation strategies to enhance health sector resilience, and the integration of environmental health considerations into regional public health policies and programs.
- Strengthen multisectoral action towards surveillance, prevention and control of NCDs, violence, injuries, mental health conditions and their risk factors
Within this area, PAHO and Caribbean countries will collaborate on developing policies to mitigate non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors. They will also accelerate the implementation of NCD management initiatives, including PAHO’s Better Care for NCDs and cervical cancer elimination strategies. A key focus will also be on expediting the transition to community-based mental healthcare.
- Advancing the prevention, control and elimination of priority communicable diseases through subregional coordination with the One Health Approach
This strategic priority will focus on the accelerating the elimination of communicable diseases through the strengthening of policies to promote vaccination as a public good. It will also look to enhance surveillance and early-warning systems to enable countries to respond quickly to outbreaks of communicable diseases.
- Enhancing technical cooperation through partnerships, resource mobilization, and advocacy.
This includes the development of a subregional framework in partnership with CARICOM to enhance resource mobilization, as well as engagement with decision-makers to address priority health issues.
“As we sign this Strategy today, let us also renew our commitment to work together – not just as institutions, but as allies, and as a community bound by common purpose,” concluded Dr. Barbosa.
PAHO Director – Official Visit to Guyana
During his Official Visit to Guyana, which took place from 21-23 July, the PAHO Director also met with the Prime Minister of Guyana, Mark Phillips, to discuss vital improvements being made to the health system.
Top of the agenda was the impact of health worker migration, and the importance of utilizing new technology, such as PAHO’s hybrid nursing programs to expand nurse training, particularly for countries of the Caribbean that face similar issues with training and retention.
