(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) I join the Chairman, Deputy Secretary General and the Director of PAHO in expressing warm greetings to you, the members of the Executive Board, who have the responsibility for piloting this noble venture which we are gathered here this afternoon to launch. I also extend heartfelt appreciation to the members of the CARPHA Steering Committee and Advisory Group as well as the Director and Staff of PAHO, the Deputy Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, the CARPHA Programme Manager and team and the Directors of the Regional Health Institutions for your sterling efforts in getting us to this stage in the evolution of CARPHA
This meeting is occurring at a time when CARICOM and indeed PAHO must feel a sense of pride for the leadership given to the world in the recently concluded United Nations High Level Meeting on Non Communicable Diseases. Indeed, the Caribbean Community was recognized as the initiator of this global event with its landmark Port of Spain Declaration of 2007 uniting to fight the NCDs, as the catalyst. It was the Caribbean Community that held the first ever summit of Heads of Government on NCDs. It was the Caribbean Community that provided the conceptual framework for the outcome document at the UN, as indeed, most of the 15 actionable recommendations of the Port- of -Spain Declaration are fully reflected in the UN resolution.
For this we refer with pride to the empirical and seminal study by the Caribbean Commission on Health and Development, chaired by Sir George Alleyne. This report armed us with the evidence to advocate for an accelerated approach to NCDs. We exported the ideas of wellness day and, wellness week as symbols for reducing the health risks and for behavior change. We provided the model by which the world will engage in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the UN resolution based on a “score card” approach. And while the final resolution fell somewhat short of the tangible outcomes that we had expected, it has nevertheless provided the basis of a global partnership including governments, the private sector and civil society to combat diseases that account for approximately 70 percent of all deaths throughout the world.
It is therefore with great enthusiasm and expectations carried over from the events in New York that we approach our assignment here in Washington DC, at this landmark event .
We arrived at this juncture for CARPHA after very careful consideration of all the factors involved. Several expert studies have been done: our experts have debated the issues. These debates included our CARICOM Councils and involved our ministries, officials, academics, business sector and other stakeholders. Notwithstanding disagreements over the details, the overwhelming burden of opinion resulting from this iterative process led to a considered decision by the CARICOM Heads of Government that the consolidation of five regional health institutions (RHI’s) into one agency was our most effective option.
In so doing the CARICOM Heads of Government carefully examined the proposals related to the governance arrangements, the phased integration of the functions and staff of the RHIs into CARPHA, and the cost and cost efficiencies. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago also scrutinized the proposals for the relocation of CAREC and the hosting of CARPHA.
And so did PAHO, with respect to the feasibility of collapsing CAREC and CFNI into CARPHA. In addition as you heard from the PAHO Director, there remains a continuing commitment by PAHO to support the technical cooperation programmes of member countries during and after the transition period. I mention these steps only to reinforce the point that CARICOM has exercised due diligence and has come to the conclusion that CARPHA, as currently conceived, is the most expedient way to organize and service the Region’s public health agenda.
We therefore expect the Executive Board to be the vanguard in the accelerated approach for this region’s public health agenda. There is a prominent view among most experts that major advances in improvement of health over the next decades will not come from new medical findings or cures, but rather the broader development and application of population-based prevention programs. Our public health agenda must engage in mitigating natural disasters, to which we are prone. It must contribute to an environment in which our health conditions are conducive to enabling our tourism industry to attract patrons. It must foster institutional strengthening of our health delivery systems with greater emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention. It must increase awareness of the public about the effects of toxic wastes and pollutants on their health. It must place emphasis on assuring the safety of our communities as well as workers’ health.
These are essential ingredients for reducing the costs of care and, simultaneously, improving the health of our populations. For these objectives to be achieved there is need to create a broad array of new opportunities for professionals with advanced training in public health as well as to increase the support for research and development, focusing more on women’s and children’s health and on substance abuse. In this regard the imperative is behavioral change to prevent the risk of STDs, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and unplanned pregnancies, school health and the health of disadvantaged populations.
CARPHA offers the scope for establishing the principles and practices of functional cooperation, so fundamental to our regional integration mission as it is intended to reach beyond the CARICOM States to the Pan Caribbean region to include the Dutch, French and Spanish Caribbean. Hence it is with great delight that I recognize the presence of the representatives from Aruba and from the French Antilles among the gathering this afternoon. It has to establish those links with the universities and research centres, regionally and internationally. That Prof Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West of the West Indies is here and representatives from the Centre for Disease Control, USA are participating via the elluminate webcast are most welcome signs.
The future of CARPHA will depend on the support from its partners. In this regard we recognize and thank the Public Health Agency of Canada, the UK Health Action Partnership Institute and the National Social Marketing Corporation, whom we view not as external agencies but as integral to process of CARPHA’s development and sustainability
Article 9 Section 3 of the Inter Governmental Agreement states that the Chair of COHSOD shall be the Chair of the Executive Board of CARPHA. That person is Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Republic of Guyana .
The challenge for the Executive Board is to chart a course for the sustainability of CARPHA. This requires creative leadership and commitment. I offer you my best wishes and support in this important journey. May your deliberations be successful.
