Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. 09 June, 2025 – From May 5th to 9th, 2025, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) led a landmark week of back-to-back public health engagements in Barbados, culminating in the celebratory Award Ceremony at its 69th annual CARPHA Health Research Conference (CHRC).
Held under the theme “Mental Health: The Hidden Pandemic”, the three-day Health Research Conference, co-hosted by the Barbados Ministry of Health and Wellness, welcomed nearly 400 delegates and featured 173 oral and poster presentations, submissions from 16 countries, and for the first time, participation from sectors beyond health - including tourism, finance, and disaster management. It was a week of action, reflection, and renewed partnerships.
Honouring Health Champions
At the Award Ceremony on May 9th, CARPHA recognised two distinguished individuals for their decades-long contributions:
Professor Jennifer Knight-Madden, for her impactful work on paediatric care and clinical research
Professor Ian Hambleton, for his leadership in statistical epidemiology across the Caribbean
This year’s research awardees included Dr. Melissa Francis, who was bestowed with the David Picou Young Researcher 2025, Ms. Tonya Campbell, who received the Donald Simeon 1st Place 2025 and Ms. Julia Manderville, who earned the Donald Simeon 2nd Place (Student Prize) 2025.
Mr. Victor Ihezue and Dr Shavon Alleyne were the first and second place winners, respectively, for the poster presentations.
Additionally, conference researchers were honoured with Guardian Group-sponsored prizes and commendations. The celebration underscored the importance of evidence-based practice in guiding policy and improving public health outcomes regionally.
From Research to Regional Resilience
The Annual Health Research Conference was the centrepiece of a much broader series of CARPHA-led engagements in Barbados. “The week showed that our Region is not only discussing the big issues – we are actively building the partnerships and systems to tackle them,” said Dr. Lisa Indar, CARPHA Executive Director. “From mental health to anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and pandemic response, the Caribbean is stepping up”.
Some of the key highlights from the week’s activities included:
CARA-AMR Project Launch (May 5): CARPHA, alongside PAHO and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), launched two major antimicrobial resistance (AMR) initiatives supported by the UK’s Fleming Fund. The Caribbean Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) project will expand regional diagnostic labs, introduce a digital AMR surveillance platform, and support national action plans in 10 countries (Learn More).
CARICOM Chief Medical Officers’ Meeting (May 5–6): In advance of the Health Research Conference, CARPHA convened a special CARICOM Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) meeting. This meeting served as an essential platform for fostering collaboration among CARICOM, CARPHA and its Member States to ensure that public health strategies align across the Caribbean. The highly productive discussions included a special consultation on regional priorities for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR), which strengthened commitment to integrated health systems and frameworks supporting emergency management.
Annual In-Person Meeting of the Caribbean Vector Borne Disease Network (CariVecNet) (May 5-6): The meeting focused on the timely and critical theme: “The Inter-Epidemic Period of Mosquito-Borne Diseases.” Forty-three (43) in person and 88 virtual Member State representatives, public health professionals, and academic experts came together to examine how countries can strengthen their detection, prediction, and response mechanisms during the inter-epidemic period.
Strengthening Regional Health Security: Spotlight on the Pandemic Fund (May 6-9)
On May 6th, CARPHA convened stakeholders to advance the CARPHA Pandemic Fund (PF) Project, which began implementation in May 2024. The project is already enhancing surveillance, laboratory, and workforce capacity across the Region. The event provided opportunities for further networking and deeper collaboration among key stakeholders in attendance, including Chief Medical Officers from CARPHA Member States, members of the Project Execution Unit of the CARPHA Pandemic Fund team, and representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and UKHSA—among them Mr. Ian Ho-a-Shu, IDB Team Leader for the PF Project; Dr. Natalie Wright, Head of the UK Overseas Territories Programme, UKHSA; and Mr. Wayne Marshall, Permanent Secretary, Barbados Ministry of Health and Wellness.
As emphasised by Dr. Lisa Indar, CARPHA Executive Director and Project Director for the Fund, “The project brings together multiple agencies and sectors, bridging the gap, disintegrating silos, and propelling the bigger picture of integration and collaboration. Collectively, these would enable the Caribbean region and countries to be better equipped and prepared for - and prevent - future disease threats, outbreaks and possible pandemics. CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund Project is changing the way the Caribbean responds to health emergencies. It is dismantling silos, promoting collaboration, and building the integrated systems we need to detect, respond to, and prevent future outbreaks”.
In addition to the Pandemic Fund (PF) Stakeholder Meeting, the PF took centre stage during the CARPHA Health Research Conference (CHRC) with a special plenary session on Day 1 and a dedicated exhibit booth throughout the Conference. CARPHA showcased accepted research papers that highlighted early achievements of the Fund, including innovations in real-time surveillance systems for mass gatherings and new models for regional collaboration during the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. These contributions underscore the Fund’s immediate impact in strengthening health system resilience across Member States.
Monitoring & Evaluation Workshop (May 6–7):
This workshop aimed to equip participants with skills to enhance transparency and accountability in programme implementation in key areas of surveillance and emergency preparedness.
A key highlight of the workshop was the official launch of the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Network that will initially engage the Ministries of Health in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as part of the World Bank Funded - Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Regional Health Project implementation.
Stakeholders included technical officers from the Ministries of Heath in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dr Lisa Indar, Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency, shared that “Monitoring and Evaluation is one of the programmatic areas included in the OECS Regional Health Project. She further noted that this investment in strengthening health systems will directly impact improving International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities in the participating countries, particularly in surveillance, laboratories, workforce development, and emergency management”.
Regional Health Communication Network (RHCN) Meeting (May 7–8): Themed “Strengthening Communication Strategies and Fostering One Health Partnerships During Public Health Emergencies”, this session reinforced the importance of coordinated risk communication across human, animal, and environmental sectors.
The RHCN was established by CARPHA in January 2015 and is supported by the 11th European Development Fund. The Network comprises Communications and Health Promotion Specialists from each CARPHA Member State, who work together to ensure a more effective distribution of public health information throughout the Region.
With the CHRC focused on mental health, CARPHA used the platform to issue an urgent call for regionally relevant, culturally sensitive responses to the Caribbean’s silent crisis. Executive Director, Dr. Indar highlighted the Region’s underfunded systems, high rates of untreated mental illness, and the generational impact of stigma and trauma. “Over 70% of people in our Region who need mental health care do not receive it. That is not just a service gap - it is a silence we must break”, she declared during the conference Opening Ceremony.
The next CHRC will take place in Guyana in April 2026, under the theme “Innovations in Health”. CARPHA also plans to publish a regional repository of research with policy relevance, with PAHO pledging support for a special issue in its Pan American Journal.
As the curtain falls on an unforgettable week in Barbados, CARPHA is energised to continue its work of fostering regional health resilience through research, collaboration, and action.
-END-