Bridgetown, Barbados, 2 November 2022 (PAHO) – Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa Etienne was on an official visit to Barbados from October 26-28, 2022. She was accompanied by PAHO Chief of Staff, Dr Merle Lewis.
Dr. Etienne’s activities during her visit included a:
- Tour of the Randal Phillips Polyclinic, Oistins, Christ Church
- Courtesy visit to the Minister of Health and Wellness, and handover of donated medical supplies to the Ministry
- Courtesy call to the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
- Tour of the Best dos Santos Public Health Laboratory
- Courtesy call on the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and UN Subregional Team
- Meeting with staff at the PAHO/WHO Barbados Office
At the Randal Phillips Polyclinic, the Director was accompanied by Chief of Staff, Dr. Merle Lewis, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (PWR-ECC), Dr. Amalia Del Riego and Dr. Vishwanath Partapsing, PAHO Advisor Health Systems and Services.
The PAHO team were met by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. The Hon Kenneth George, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anton Best, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Sonia Sonia Browne, Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Janet Phillips, Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Barry Ward who led the tour of the facility, Mr. Colin Browne, Senior Environmental Health Officer and Mrs. Larone Hyland, Deputy Chief Public Health Nurse.
In discussions with staff at the polyclinic, Dr. Etienne noted that a significant accomplishment for the health centre was the continuity of health care services and out-patient care as the daily cases and deaths from COVID-19 climbed steadily. She commended the staff and suggested that the best practice and lessons learned should be documented.
At the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill applauded the Director and her staff at the Barbados office as major partners who provided technical assistance, lifesaving equipment, medical technology and on-going guidance through a plethora of experts in the areas of laboratory strengthening, management of critical patients, quarantine and isolation.
The Director highlighted the continuity of care to the population in the opening of clinics and the commitment of staff at all levels in the management of patients who contracted COVID-19. The visit concluded with the handing over of life saving personal protective equipment (PPE) and other equipment.
The Prime Minister of Barbados Hon. Mia Amor Mottley referred to the Director as her midnight expert during the last two and a half year of the COVID-19 pandemic and noted that when she required urgent technical guidance, that Dr. Etienne was always available to discuss new and emerging issues.
It was a humble moment when Dr. Etienne said that Barbados and the Caribbean managed better than other regions and benefitted significantly from the excellent leadership of Prime Minister Mottley because she was the Head of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the first year of the pandemic.
Dr. Etienne assured the Prime Minister that Dr. Amalia Del Riego, PWR-ECC, would work tirelessly to continue to provide technical assistance to Barbados and to strengthen the gaps identified. The Prime Minister noted that Mental Health across the health service was a priority area and it had to be juxtaposed with renewed policy interventions in the reduction of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases (CNCDs) as the burden had increased during the pandemic.
The strengthening of laboratory capacity to test and detect the COVID-19 virus quickly and to increase the daily numbers of tests and results was a major investment by PAHO during the height of the pandemic. The Best Dos Santos Laboratory in Barbados benefitted significantly from the provision of equipment and supplies, as well as extensive training from PAHO Virologist Dr. Lionel Gresh and other technical laboratory experts.
Dr. Carissa Etienne visited the Best Dos Santos Laboratory on October 28th accompanied by Dr. Amalia Del Riego PWR-ECC and PAHO Advisor for Health Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. Prabhjot Singh. The tour of the facility was conducted by Deputy Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Dr. Anton Best, Director of the Lab Dr. Songee Beckles and Ms. Nicole Durant, during which the myriad of lab functions, programs and processes were explained.
The Director’s final courtesy call was on the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Didier Trebucq and UN Subregional Team, including UNICEF Representative, Mr. Pieter Bult, UNDP Representative Ms. Limya Eltayeb, FAO Sub-regional coordinator, Dr. Renata Clarke, UN Women, Ms. Isiuwa Iyahen, Programme Specialist and Strategic Planning Officer in the Resident Coordinator’s Office Mr. Kenroy Roach.
The discussion reviewed the commonalities of technical assistance of the other UN agencies and PAHO. UN Resident Coordination Didier Trebrucq acknowledged the joint UN COVID-19 response led by PAHO and the initiative to increase vaccine uptake. The success of the ongoing SMART health care facility project in countries and the adaptation to climate change project were also discussed.
The Director provided a brief overview of the COVID-19 situation in the region, reiterating that the pandemic is not over, although there is COVID fatigue. Of importance she noted was how to deal with vaccine hesitancy, and how to effectively deal with misconceptions and misinformation.
There were many effects of COVID Dr. Etienne noted, but mental health was exacerbated. Some of it is overt, some persons don’t realize they are under mental health stress, it affects all segments of society, she said. Tacking the mental illness must be a joint effort, as a UN body we need to put something together to address this growing crisis. Management of NCDs and environmental health challenges were also noted as issues.
