Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, May 7, 2026. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has strengthened Trinidad and Tobago’s biosafety and biosecurity capacity for the safe packaging and transport of shipment of infectious substances and diagnostic specimens through a Shipping of Infectious Substances Training (SIST) held from April 20 to 24, 2026.
The training, conducted with funding from CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund Grant, brought together fourteen (14) participants from four laboratories and collection centres under Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It focused on strengthening national laboratory and animal health capacity to safely manage and transport infectious substances and diagnostic specimens for referral testing.
The safe and efficient transport of infectious substances is essential for the timely identification, prevention, and control of infectious diseases, particularly in the Caribbean where referral testing and cross-border coordination are critical to public health security. The training was designed to strengthen technical competencies in specimen management while promoting adherence to standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Participants engaged in practical, hands-on exercises covering the classification, packaging, labelling, documentation, and safe transport of infectious substances. The training also reinforced the importance of maintaining specimen integrity and protecting personnel, carriers, and the wider public throughout the referral and transport process.
Through this initiative, CARPHA reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening biosafety, biosecurity, and laboratory systems across the Caribbean, guided by a One Health approach that recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. By building capacity within Trinidad and Tobago’s agriculture and animal health sector, the training supports stronger coordination across sectors involved in the detection, prevention, and response to infectious disease threats.
Speaking on the importance of the training, Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA, said: “Partnership remains central to effective preparedness. Through a multisectoral One Health approach, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and national stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, we are strengthening a sustainable, standard-compliant shipping workforce. Trainings such as these are essential across sectors to safeguard specimen integrity and enhance national capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to public health threats, ensuring readiness for future emergencies.”
The Trinidad and Tobago training builds on previous SIST capacity-building conducted in Belize and forms part of a broader series of regional activities under the CARPHA Pandemic Fund Project. These activities are aimed at strengthening laboratory systems, surveillance, workforce capacity, and regional coordination for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
CARPHA remains committed to continued capacity development across its Member States, including further training to expand and sustain expertise in the safe transport of infectious substances and diagnostic specimens.
About the Pandemic Fund Project:
CARPHA is the Executing Agency for its Pandemic Fund 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. Learn more via CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund webpage.
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