Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. July 30, 2026. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), through its Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (CR-FELTP), has concluded a series of three, in-person Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) Frontline 3.0 One Health training workshops in Trinidad and Tobago. The training was held from May 18th, 2026 to July 22nd, 2026, at the Ministry of Health, Port of Spain, and brought together eighteen (18) frontline public health and veterinary professionals from the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, Land and Fisheries in Trinidad and Tobago. These workshops were supported through the Pandemic Fund grant, with CARPHA serving as the Executing Agency and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Implementing Entity.
The workshops support CARPHA’s continued efforts to strengthen the Caribbean’s capacity to detect, investigate and respond to public health threats across the human, animal and environmental health sectors, and thus, strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) across the Caribbean, with a
focus on building a resilient regional public health workforce.
Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA, said the training reflects CARPHA’s commitment to practical, country-level capacity building for health security. “Strengthening frontline surveillance and response capacity is essential to protecting the health and well-being of Caribbean people. Through this One Health training, CARPHA is supporting Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Region in building a workforce that can detect threats early, investigate effectively and respond across sectors before outbreaks escalate”.
To support this capacity-building effort, CARPHA deployed the FETP Frontline 3.0 One Health curriculum, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The updated curriculum is designed around a One Health framework and brings together participants from the human and animal health sectors through cross-sectoral case studies, field exercises and applied activities that reflect real-world surveillance and outbreak response.
This is the first cohort in the Region to benefit from the updated curriculum in the Caribbean. Following the in-person workshops, trainees will have enhanced competencies in conducting surveillance assessments and outbreak investigations in and around their workplaces. Having completed the programme, they graduate as certified Frontline personnel equipped with practical skills in disease surveillance, public health data analysis, outbreak investigation and emergency response.
Dr. Laura-Lee Boodram, Head, Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, undescored that the updated curriculum is designed to strengthen collaboration between sectors and support applied learning beyond the classroom. “The FETP Frontline 3.0 One Health curriculum ensures that public health and veterinary professionals can work together using shared tools, data and field-based approaches. By applying what they learn directly in their workplaces going forward, trainees will strengthen surveillance systems, improve outbreak investigation capacity and help build a more connected regional network of frontline responders,” Dr. Boodram said.
Over the past twelve (12) years, CR-FELTP, one of CARPHA’s flagship workforce development programmes, has produced a growing network of over five hundred (500) trained professionals who directly support national and regional public health systems.
The Trinidad and Tobago cohort marks the beginning of a wider rollout of the FETP Frontline 3.0 One Health curriculum across CARPHA Member States. CARPHA intends to expand this cross-sectoral training model to additional Member States, continuously building a regionally connected network of public health and veterinary professionals who can collaborate across institutional boundaries.
Each cohort trained strengthens the Region’s collective capacity for early warning, outbreak response and health emergency preparedness, contributing to a safer, healthier and more resilient Caribbean. For more information about CARPHA and its programmes, visit www.carpha.org.
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. Learn more via CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund webpage.
Photo Captions:
Photo Caption: Flanked by the recent graduates of the updated Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) Frontline 3.0 One Health training workshop, (seated L-R) are Dr. Michelle Mellowes, Chief Technical Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Dr. Laura-Lee Boodram, Head, CR-FELTP, Dr. Lana Gyan, Director Animal Production and Health, and Dr. Lisa Musai, Chief Veterinary Officer, both from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries.
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