Bridgetown, Barbados. September 15th, 2026. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) concluded a two-day Regional Climate and Health Workshop for Vector-Borne Disease Prevention and Preparedness, held from September 8–9, 2026 in Barbados and funded by CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund grant. The workshop strengthened the practical use of climate and environmental information in vector-borne disease surveillance, preparedness, vector control and public health decision-making across six CARPHA Member States (CMS). 

A total of eighteen (18) participants, including public health and vector-borne disease professionals and representatives of meteorological services from Barbados, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Curaçao, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as consultants from the Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE), representatives of the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), and CARPHA staff were in attendance. 

“Climate-informed surveillance gives our Member States a critical advantage: the ability to recognise changing risks earlier and take timely, targeted action,” noted Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA. “By bringing health and climate professionals together and connecting epidemiological, entomological, laboratory and environmental information, we are strengthening Caribbean-tailored early warning systems that can better protect lives, livelihoods and regional health security.”

Climate variability and climate change are increasingly influencing the distribution, abundance and transmission dynamics of vectors and vector-borne diseases across the Caribbean. Changes in rainfall, temperature and humidity, together with drought conditions and extreme weather events, can create favourable conditions for vector proliferation and heighten the risk of disease transmission. Stronger collaboration between the health and climate sectors is therefore essential to support evidence-informed planning, preparedness and response.

Chief Medical Officer of Barbados, Dr. Kenneth George, described the workshop as timely given the increasing unpredictability of climate and weather patterns. “Changes in rainfall and other weather patterns can make it more difficult for countries to anticipate how vector-borne disease risks may develop. Accurate surveillance is therefore essential to help us observe these patterns, understand the most pressing risks and strengthen our preparedness. Barbados is happy to play its part, and through regional collaborative efforts such as this CARPHA-hosted workshop, countries across the Region can learn from one another’s experiences.” 

Over the two days, participants examined the relationship between climate and vector-borne disease risk; climate information services; disease forecasting systems; regional initiatives and country experiences; and practical approaches for incorporating climate information into public health programmes. Country teams also identified priorities, implementation challenges and technical-support needs, participated in technical clinics, and developed next steps to strengthen sustainable national climate and health programmes.

Dr. Roshan Parasram, Head of Vector-Borne Diseases at CARPHA, underscored the importance of translating climate information into operational public health action. “For Caribbean Small Island Developing States, climate-sensitive vector-borne disease risks require us to be more predictive and adaptable. The value of climate information lies in connecting it to surveillance, vector control and clear decision points, so that countries can identify where risk is increasing, direct resources more precisely and intervene before threats escalate into outbreaks,” Dr. Parasram said.

Building on Regional Progress

Building on a series of Pandemic Fund-supported vector-borne disease (VBD) capacity-building activities led by CARPHA, regional workshops held in Barbados (August 2025), Trinidad and Tobago (December 2025), and Guyana (April 2026) progressively strengthened surveillance data quality, integrated vector management, insecticide resistance testing, geographic information systems, nowcasting, risk assessment, early warning systems, and the standardisation of datasets across epidemiological, entomological and climate sectors. The Barbados climate and health workshop further advanced this work by focusing on the practical use of climate and environmental information to generate surveillance signals, forecasts and action triggers for public health interventions. Collectively, these efforts support CARPHA’s Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance and Response System (RIEWSS) by defining priority data requirements, governance arrangements, alert pathways and technical support mechanisms needed to integrate epidemiological, entomological, laboratory, climate and environmental data, enabling earlier detection of emerging disease threats, more timely and targeted public health responses, and stronger collaboration among health, meteorological and technical partners across the Region.

CARPHA will continue working with Member States and partners to strengthen climate-informed public health programmes, advance regional technical support mechanisms and promote the sustained use of evidence and early warning information to prevent and respond to vector-borne disease threats.

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: CARPHA Facilitators and participants of the recently concluded a two-day Regional Climate and Health Workshop for Vector-Borne Disease Prevention and Preparedness, held from September 8–9, 2026 in Barbados.

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