Castries, St. Lucia – February 4th, 2025 (PAHO). The PAHO antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance mission which launched in Barbados saw a PAHO team visiting several Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs officials from February 3rd to 4th, 2025.
Courtesy call
PAHO/WHO Barbados and ECC Advisor for Health Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. Prabhjot Singh, paid a courtesy call to Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George.
Dr. Singh formally introduced the mission, which involves discussing St. Lucia’s progress with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance and PAHO’s support through various projects including the UK’s Flemming Fund and the Pandemic Fund. Biennial Work Plans were also on the agenda, including Disease Elimination.
In response, Dr. Belmar-George expressed her thanks and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate.
Ezra Long Laboratory visit
Dr. Singh and other PAHO team members - Marcelo Galas, Technical Officer, Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance; Mariano Ratto, International PAHO Consultant (Lab infrastructure and logistics); and Fernando Xavier Villavicencio, International PAHO Consultant (Bacteriology) – engaged with staff of the Ezra Long Laboratory of the Owen King EU (OKEU) Hospital, located at Millennium Heights Medical Complex (MHMC). The laboratory team comprised Laboratory Manager, Rosanna Sonson; Consultant Hematologist, Dr. Roy Roman Torres; Laboratory Quality Manager, Wendy Philip; and Senior Technologist Molecular Biology Department and Biosafety and Security Officer, Vernel Feloion.
PAHO will be providing the lab with diagnostic machines and consumables and software compatible with existing equipment. PAHO, in conjunction with CARPHA and the Barbados-based Best Dos Santos Public Health Laboratory, will also provide training in various methodologies.
Plans for expansion of the lab were reviewed and an assessment was conducted to determine the additional support required, including a need for personal protective equipment. Current health and safety protocols were also examined.
The Laboratory Manager conveyed her gratitude for the support, which will help to strengthen the lab and help it to achieve independence.
The Owen King EU (OKEU) Hospital comprises approximately 120 beds and there are plans to add an additional 40 beds. The adjoining Ezra Long Laboratory has a complement of two medical technologists and four laboratory assistants, who work with the Laboratory Manager, Consultant Hematologist, Laboratory Quality Manager, and Senior Technologist Molecular Biology Department and Biosafety and Security Officer. This team welcomes student volunteers annually, a contingency plan to introduce upcoming laboratory students to the field.
Schistosomiasis planning meeting
The PAHO team met with focal points for the schistosomiasis survey in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs: Dr. Michelle Francois, National Epidemiologist, and Dr. Dana DaCosta Gomez, Medical Surveillance Officer.
Plans are underway to recruit personnel to work with the survey, which has only achieved about one-quarter of its target survey sample.
The epidemiology team is leading the process of meeting with health, education and other stakeholders. Additionally, communication strategies have been identified which will be implemented with PAHO’s support.
Vector control strengthening
Over at the Environmental Health Department, Chief Environmental Health Officer, Cheryl St. Romaine, Assistant Chief Environmental Health Officer, Ernie Pierre, and Environmental Health Officer, Charletta Charles-Leon, met with PAHO’s Dr. Singh and Country Programme Specialist, Fiona Anthony.
Planning ensued on methods to strengthen environmental surveillance to evaluate risks, as well as risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) virtual training for officers, public education to enhance vector control, provision of equipment, and in-island resistance assessment and support for the implementation of the DHIS2 system.
Partnering for success
In each engagement with PAHO and Ministry of Health officials, it was clear that collaboration is key to achieving the public health goals throughout the nation.
