Caribbean Public Health Agency

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is a regional public health agency headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago^[2] which was established by CARICOM leaders in July 2011^[1] and began operation in 2013.^[2]

Caribbean Public Health Agency

Agency overview
Formed	2013; 11 years ago (2013)[1]
Preceding agencies	The Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) The Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC) The Caribbean Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (CRDTL)
Jurisdiction	CARICOM
Headquarters	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 10°40′26″N 61°31′28″W
Agency executive	Dr. Cheryl Joy St. John, Executive Director
Website	http://www.carpha.org/

CARPHA combines the functions of five pre-existing regional health institutions:^[3] The Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), The Caribbean Health Research Centre (CHRC), and The Caribbean Research and Drug Treatment Laboratory (CRDTL).

History

The CARPHA was established in 2013.

On 14 May 2014, the CARPHA acknowledged the gift by the Government of Canada of a Biosafety level 3 laboratory.^[4][5]

Role

CARPHA aims to address regional issues including:^[6]

• Responding to disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding.
• Monitoring and managing both communicable diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS and COVID-19) and non communicable diseases (e.g. obesity and diabetes) that are prevalent in the region.
• Monitoring and preventing injuries, violence and illnesses in work places.
• Contributing to global health agreements and compliance with international health regulations.

COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic CARPHA has been performing tests for 18 countries in the region but warned on 5 April 2020, that they were running short on reagents required for COVID-19 testing and expected to be able to continue testing for three weeks.^{[7][needs update]}

On 9 April 2020, the European Union announced a grant of €8M (US$8.6M), which will be implemented by the Caribbean Public Health Agency, for the fight against the coronavirus.^{[8][needs update]}

On 11 April 2020, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados who is the CARICOM Chair, called a special Heads of Government meeting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and establish a common public health protocol, and border policy.^[9] The governments have agreed to the proposal in a virtual meeting.^{[10][needs update]}

Membership

CARPHA has 26 full members throughout the Americas.^[11]

Country	Joined	Population[12][13]
Anguilla	-	15,753
Antigua and Barbuda	-	93,219
Aruba	-	106,537
Bahamas	-	407,906
Barbados	-	281,200
Belize	-	400,031
Bermuda	-	64,185
BES Islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba)	-	26,706
British Virgin Islands	-	31,122
Cayman Islands	-	68,136
Curaçao	-	190,338
Dominica	-	72,412
Grenada	-	124,610
Haiti	-	11,447,569
Guyana	-	804,567
Jamaica	-	2,827,695
Montserrat	-	4,417
Saint Kitts and Nevis	-	47,606
Saint Lucia	-	179,651
Sint Maarten	-	44,042
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-	104,332
Suriname	-	612,985
Trinidad and Tobago	-	1,525,663
Turks and Caicos Islands	-	45,114

See also

• List of national public health agencies
• PAHO
• World Health Organization

References

1. "CARICOM to Establish Health Agency". Caribbean Journal. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
2. "Remarks by Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM) At The Launch of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)". CARICOM. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
3. "Caribbean Public Health Agency to launch operations in 2013". Kaieteur News. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
4. "BSL-3 lab funded by Canada initiative of The Global Partnership Program Press Release". Germfree Laboratories, Inc. 20 May 2014.
5. "Canada donates Biosafety Level 3 modular laboratory to Caribbean health authorities". Homeland Security News Wire. News Wire Publications, LLC News Wire Publications, LLC. 2 June 2014.
6. "About The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)". CARPHA. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
7. "Global shortage of key ingredient could affect COVID-19 testing in Caribbean". Jamaica Observer. 5 April 2020.
8. "EU provides US$8.6M grant for C'bean to combat COVID-19". Kaieteur News. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
9. "COVID-19: Special CARICOM Heads of Government meeting scheduled". Loop News Barbados. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
10. "Caricom-staatshoofden stemmen in met gezamenlijk gezondheidsprotocol". Suriname Herald (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
11. "Caribbean Public Health Agency Member States". The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
12. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
13. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

External links

• Official website