Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. October 7, 2025. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) welcomed the Honourable Dr. Lackram Bodoe, Minister of Health of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as they visited the CARPHA Headquarters in Port of Spain on October 7, 2025. Also, in attendance were Mr. Asif Ali, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Dr. Gabriel Vivas Francesconi, PAHO/WHO Representative for Trinidad and Tobago.
During the visit, the delegation met with Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director CARPHA and members of the Executive and Department Management teams, toured the Agency’s Headquarters, including the site of its mobile Regional Emergency Operations Center and Insectary, as well as toured the Agency’s referral laboratory and only operational BSL-3 laboratory in the Region. Discussions focused on strengthening collaborations with T&T (CARPHA’s host country) and PAHO for advancing health priority areas in T&T and across the Region.
During her welcome remarks, Dr. Indar shared, “CARPHA thanks the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for its tremendous support and remains committed to working closely with the Ministry of Health and its regional and international partners, to provide a Caribbean-tailored approach to protect the health of people of the Region. Today’s exchange reaffirmed our shared priorities; to build greater capacity for stronger surveillance, emergency response, workforce development and regional cooperation”. Dr. Indar added, “We appreciate and value the continued long-standing partnerships of PAHO and the Ministry of Health in these efforts”.
The Honourable Dr. Lackram Bodoe, Minister of Health shared, “CARPHA is commended for the tremendous work achieved over the years, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic, not only to Trinidad and Tobago, but throughout the 26 Member States”. The Honourable Minister also noted that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to continuing its support to CARPHA.
Echoing the sentiments, Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director, PAHO stated that, “PAHO is proud to engage with CARPHA as a partner in delivering public health to the Caribbean region. This is achieved through our framework agreement and biennial workplan to complement the work being done across the Caribbean”. Dr. Sealey-Thomas added, “Our joint efforts are critical to preventing and controlling outbreaks, addressing non-communicable diseases and achieving universal health for all”.
About CARPHA:
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is the lead regional public health agency for the Caribbean. CARPHA provides strategic direction, coordinates public health responses, and delivers laboratory, surveillance, and technical services to its Member States to prevent disease, promote and protect health, and respond to public