(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The consolidation of five institutions that provide public health services in the Caribbean Community and the operation of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/Aids (PANCAP) Coordinating Unit will be among the issues in the health sector that will be up for discussion by CARICOM Heads of Government when they meet in Guyana 2-5 July 2009.
Both issues featured prominently in the 2001 Nassau Declaration “The Health of the Region is the wealth of the Region” that was issued by CARICOM Heads of Government.
The Assistant Secretary-General at the CARICOM Secretariat for Human and Social Development, Dr. Edward Greene told the regional media on Friday that work towards the consolidation of five public health institutions in the Caribbean had progressed significantly and that a comprehensive report would be delivered to the Heads of Government. He added that the consolidation of the institutions was at the heart of the Caribbean Cooperation (CCH) in Health agenda as set out in the Nassau Declaration.
‘We want to ensure that there is a regional approach to public health. It is most urgent that we consolidate the five agencies, particularly at this time of a global financial and economic crisis. We must rationalise public health systems,’ Dr. Greene stressed.
Public health work is currently being undertaken by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Caribbean Environment Health Institute (CEHI), the Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), and the Caribbean Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (CRDTL). When merged, the five public health institutions will be replaced by the Caribbean Regional Public Health Agency (CARPHA). This body will be the regional umbrella agency that will assume the governance and public health functions in the Region.
On the issue of PANCAP, he said the Heads of Government would be updated on the work of the agency, which has won praise from the United Nations for its coordinated approach to dealing with the issues of HIV/AIDS
