Geneva, 18 May 2020 (PAHO/WHO)—"We have watched how COVID decimated rich and powerful nations with strong curative care systems—killing their people, over running their health care systems, and halting business. And so early on, CARICOM decided that we cannot fight the illness, and that we had to delay the arrival of COVID-19 into the region as far as possible." These were some of the remarks by Hon Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados when she made a virtual address to the 73rd annual World Health Assembly on 18 May 2020.
were it not for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), or CARPHA, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and more recently WHO, we would believe that we were living in the wild wild west
Prime Minister Mottley mentioned the regional agencies mobilized to assist with the COVID-19 response, including public health like the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), modeling like the University of the West Indies (UWI), disaster preparedness and mitigation like the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) of CARICOM, tracking movement of persons through borders.
“The Caribbean region’s economies rank among the most travel and tourism -dependent economies in the world. This has exposed our people and our economies in a way that we have not experienced since becoming independent nations more than fifty years ago in some instances.”
She said that “as we reflect on events of the last three months were it not for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), or CARPHA, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and more recently WHO, we would believe that we were living in the “wild wild west” that we see in movies where only those who are strong and well-endowed should survive.”
I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Tedros for reaching out to the Executive Director of the Global Fund last evening, to advocate for the countries in the region that have been excluded from procurement through the consortium of critical COVID-19 medical supplies
The Prime Minister noted the inherent vulnerability to which the Caribbean is exposed, and which prevents from accessing critical money and goods. She said the use of certain proxy criteria to access technologies, medicines, vaccines or concessional funds and grants, would exclude vulnerable countries in the Caribbean, some in Latin American and even the Pacific.
“Where there is global market failure as is happening now, small middle-income states are at risk of not being seen or heard or not even accessing critical goods and supplies. I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Tedros for reaching out to the Executive Director of the Global Fund last evening, to advocate for the countries in the region that have been excluded from procurement through the consortium of critical COVID-19 medical supplies. We need to be included.”
The prime minister’s full speech may be downloaded from the Government Information Service website.
