Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 2 July 2013 (PAHO/WHO) - The director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, is in Trinidad and Tobago this week to participate in the inauguration of the new Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), which became operational on 1 January 2013.
During a July 2 event at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain, Etienne said she expected CARPHA to provide important leadership and coordination to help member countries address the many public health challenges facing the Caribbean.
"My vision of CARPHA is one of a pan-Caribbean cooperation agency that both embodies and promotes excellence in the performance of key public health functions to prevent disease, promote and to protect health," she said.
CARPHA was legally established in 2011 through an inter-governmental agreement signed by CARICOM Member States. Its mandate is to coordinate public health action among Caribbean countries in core areas including disease surveillance, development of human resources for health, emergency preparedness and response, health promotion and communication, and policy development.
CARPHA merges five former regional health institutions: the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), the Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC), Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), and the Caribbean Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (CRDTL). The agency is currently housed at the former offices of CAREC, in Port of Spain, but it is expected to move to new premises in early 2015.
PAHO/WHO and international partners including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom provided support for CARPHA's development over the past two years.
Etienne called on CARICOM countries to remain actively engaged and supportive of the agency going forward and said PAHO will continue to do the same.
"PAHO is fully committed to the success of CARPHA," said Etienne. "We do take pride in our stewardship role in CAREC and CFNI over many years, and we are not too humble to claim some credit for our role in CARPHA's creation. We feel that we must have a strong stake in ensuring that this fledgling agency grows and develops to its full potential."
"I believe that it is within the scope of CARPHA to make a real difference in the Caribbean - to improve health and well-being, reduce inequities, reduce the upward cost spiral in health services, and improve the development prospects of Caribbean people," said CARPHA Executive Director James Hospedales. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Hospedales formerly served PAHO/WHO senior advisor on chronic diseases and before that as director of CAREC.
CARPHA's work will be aligned with the principles of the Caribbean Cooperation in Health (CCH III) initiative, which seeks to improve the health of people in the Caribbean and reduce the risks of disease, injury, and disability. Membership in
CARPHA is open to all Members and Associate Members of CARICOM.
PAHO, founded in 1902, is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It works with its member countries to improve the health and the quality of life of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO.
