Georgetown, Guyana. July 26, 2025 – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), through its Caribbean Public Health Laboratory Network (CariPHLN), has successfully concluded a strategic and energising three-day workshop in Georgetown, Guyana. This high-level event brought together Laboratory Directors, senior laboratory professionals, and public health officials from twenty-one (21) CARPHA Member States, united by a shared commitment to strengthening laboratory capacity and regional coordination.
As the Caribbean’s primary mechanism for laboratory networking and collaboration, CariPHLN continues to inspire a new era of public health resilience. The workshop served as a powerful reminder of the importance of laboratory networking—not only in emergency response, but in the continuous exchange of expertise, innovation, and solidarity that underpins effective public health systems. Participants reaffirmed their dedication to working together as a consolidated and unique network, capable of delivering timely, high-quality laboratory services to better serve the region.
This workshop was made possible through funding from The Pandemic Fund Grant, with CARPHA serving as the Executing Agency and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Implementing Entity. CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund Project aims to mitigate the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by enhancing early warning systems, laboratory networks, workforce capacity, and regional coordination.
Over the course of the workshop, participants developed strategic plans to activate CariPHLN’s Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs), confirmed TAG Chairs to serve on the CariPHLN Executive, and endorsed updated Terms of Reference to reflect the region’s evolving needs. Discussions addressed improvements to early warning systems, formalisation of laboratory referral mechanisms and safe sample transport, as well as CARPHA’s expanded suite of laboratory services supporting diagnostics and surveillance across Member States. The group also reviewed the implementation of the regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Programme, including the requirements and benefits of participation in the established AMR hubs. A tabletop simulation exercise tested the operational readiness and interconnectivity of the CariPHLN network.
The workshop yielded several tangible and forward-looking outcomes. Participants agreed to implement a standardised self-evaluation checklist and survey across all laboratories in the region within the next three months. They also committed to the launch of a quarterly CariPHLN newsletter to enhance communication and knowledge sharing, and to pursue internal capacity building through consolidated procurement processes and tailored training alternatives. Importantly, CariPHLN will now provide critical counselling and advisory services to all CARPHA Member States, reinforcing its role as a strategic partner in regional health security.
“This is more than a network—it’s a movement,” said Dr Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA. “Through CariPHLN, we are strengthening regional laboratory networking, communication, and coordination for the rapid detection and response to public health threats. This is what regional preparedness looks like, and it is the kind of collaboration that will keep our communities safe.”
Dr Gabriel Escobar, Head of CARPHA’s Medical Microbiology Laboratory, added, “We are enhancing our collective ability to act decisively and collaboratively. The plans developed over the past three days are practical, measurable, and designed to make a lasting impact on how laboratories across the region work together throughout the year.”
This workshop is one of several key activities under CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund Project, aimed at bolstering health security across the Caribbean through proactive planning, technical leadership, and coordinated action.
About the Pandemic Fund Project
CARPHA is the Executing Agency for the PF Project, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Implementing Entity. The goal of this Project, which spans from 2024 to 2026, is to Reduce the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR). The objective is to support the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic PPR surveillance and early warning systems, laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and at country levels. This will reduce the transboundary spread of infectious diseases and improve regional and global health security. CARPHA is the beneficiary of the PF project and CARPHA Member States are the participants.