A two-day Regional Health Security (RHS) workshop, hosted by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), is underway at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana. The event brings together representatives from across the Caribbean to discuss and operationalise the 2022 RHS framework to transition it from strategy into actionable plans.
The workshop comes at a critical time, as the region continues to face increasing trends in infectious diseases, along with new and emerging health threats. One of the main goals of the workshop is to provide Caribbean member states with specific updates on the progress of the RHS framework, while facilitating dialogue on national and regional preparedness.
It further emphasises the need for enhanced regional collaboration, strategic investment, and readiness in the face of 21st-century public health challenges.
Guyana’s Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, in his address, spoke about the country’s active role in implementing health security measures.
“No longer are our greatest threats defined solely by conventional warfare or visible enemies. Increasingly, they emerge from our interconnected world, from invisible pathogens, collapsing ecosystems and the very systems we depend upon to keep us safe,” Dr. Anthony said.
He highlighted that while countries cannot necessarily predict the next pandemic or public health emergency, they can prepare, and the workshop is a critical step in that direction.
One of the main goals of the event is to update Caribbean member states on the progress made in implementing the RHS framework while facilitating meaningful dialogue on national and regional preparedness strategies.
Guyana is supported by a US$15 million fund from the Pandemic Fund and an additional US$7 million from the World Bank, to strengthen its public health systems and pandemic preparedness.
Major reforms include the drafting of a new Public Health Act, the expansion of laboratory networks, the construction of a Bio-Safety Level 3 laboratory at the National Public Health Lab, and the implementation of a new One Health surveillance system and emergency health response teams.
“History has shown us that plagues do not belong to the past; they are recurring chapters in the human story, shaped by our biology as our behaviours,” Dr. Anthony stated.
Pointing to other threats like bioterrorism, “from anthrax-laced letters to genetically engineered pathogens,” the Health Minister called for investment in infrastructure, equipment, and, most importantly, human resources.
CARPHA Executive Director, Dr. Lisa Indar, during her address, explained that these evolving threats test the resilience and responsiveness of Caribbean health systems and require strategic innovations to combat them.
One such innovation is the RHS framework.
“A multi-tiered, One Health, cross sectoral, well-coordinated approach to RHS is especially crucial for the Caribbean’s success, as the region is uniquely characterized by small, under-resourced populations with varying surveillance, laboratory and human resource capacities, highly interconnected with porous borders, heavily reliant on tourism and susceptible to infectious disease spread,” Dr. Indar stated.
In addition, Minister Anthony listed other solutions, which include early warning systems for mass gatherings, digital disease surveillance, biosafety measures, and monitoring of misinformation.
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