Bridgetown, Barbados - January 27th, 2025 (PAHO). Three-day planning meetings in the PAHO/WHO Barbados Country Office signaled the start of a momentous antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance mission to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC).
AMR caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019 and is considered a global threat, especially to vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The purpose of the mission was to therefore discuss the progress in AMR surveillance, PAHO’s support through various projects including the UK’s Flemming Fund and the Pandemic Fund, and to discuss other BWP activities including those related to Disease Elimination.
This project, financed by the Fleming Fund, builds upon the success of the Cooperation Among Countries for Health Development (CCHD) pilot (2019–2021), which demonstrated the effectiveness of subregional approaches to strengthening laboratory infrastructure and response systems.
The objectives of the mission were to:
- Introduce the project to key stakeholders and identify synergies with other ongoing projects relevant to AMR detection and containment in the Caribbean region.
- Conduct site visits of the main tertiary care level public hospitals, to assess capacities for microbiological identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of prioritized bacteria and Candida spp., detection of AMR mechanisms of its clinical laboratory and identify the gaps that need to be addressed under the project.
- Foster collaboration among national authorities, PAHO, and key stakeholders to ensure effective project execution, and develop detailed work plans to guide implementation.
Specifically, as it relates to AMR surveillance, the team aimed to:
- Strengthen lab and diagnostic capacity
- Enhance data management and surveillance
- Ensure quality and sustainability
- Build emergency response and stewardship
Visiting PAHO/WHO team members comprised Marcelo Galas, Technical Officer, Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance; Mariano Ratto, International PAHO Consultant (Lab infrastructure and logistics); and Fernando Xavier Villavicencio, International PAHO Consultant (Bacteriology).
The visiting experts worked in conjunction with Senior Technical Advisor to CARPHA, Mohamed ElSherbiny, and project manager, PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the ECC Advisor, Health Surveillance & Disease Prevention, Dr. Prabhjot Singh.
In welcoming the team to the mission, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the ECC, Dr. Amalia Del Riego, stressed: “It is important that we have good coordination regionally and good cooperation with country offices.”
She pointed out that this is especially important with Barbados and the ECC as smaller countries have challenges as it related to human resources and capacity, though the countries do have some capacities in place.
Dr. Del Riego described the collaboration on AMR as a “one-time unprecedented opportunity for the Caribbean”.
The team engaged in training at the PAHO/WHO Barbados Country Office as well as at the Best dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.
This was followed by travel to Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where the mission continued.
