Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. November 18, 2024 – The Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHA) One Health Multidisciplinary Workshop to Promote Integrated Surveillance for Foodborne Diseases and Zoonoses kicked off today at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre. With over 70 participants representing 10 CARPHA Member States (CMS) and 13 regional and international agencies, the workshop underscores CARPHA’s commitment to strengthening food safety and health security across the Caribbean region.

This two-day workshop, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) through the Pandemic Fund, convenes multidisciplinary representatives from the human, animal, and environmental health sectors to address the shared challenges of foodborne diseases (FBDs) and zoonoses. Delegates include national epidemiologists, laboratory directors, chief environmental health officers, and chief veterinary officers from Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Participating agencies include:

• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Caribbean
• CDC One Health Office
• Pan American Center for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health/Pan American Health Organization (PANAFTOSA/PAHO)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA)
• The University of the West Indies (UWI)
• Caribbean Animal Health Network (CaribVET)
• Caribbean Community Chief Veterinary Officers (CARICOM CVO)
• Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
• The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
• Caribbean Task Force on Food Safety

At the event’s opening ceremony, Dr. Lisa Indar, CARPHA’s Ad Interim Executive Director, highlighted the workshop’s significance: “This multisectoral workshop with representatives from human, environmental, and animal health sectors from 13 international and regional agencies and 10 CARPHA Country Member States represents a renewed commitment by CARPHA to the One Health integrated approach to food safety. Regional and intersectoral coordination is crucial to improving food safety and thus health security in the Caribbean region.”

The ‘One Health Workshop’ also serves as a platform to foster the partnerships that are critical to addressing regional health challenges. By uniting experts across the Caribbean region from diverse fields such as epidemiology, environmental health, veterinary science, and public health, the event encourages the sharing of knowledge and innovative practices. Through collaboration, participants aim to establish stronger links between research, policy, and practice, which will ultimately enhance surveillance systems and outbreak response mechanisms in the Caribbean.

The Hon. Terrence Deyalsingh, Minister of Health of Trinidad and Tobago, delivered the keynote address at the workshop’s opening ceremony and emphasized the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), stating:

“We have to ensure that as SIDS, as we tackle foodborne diseases, that we have a seat at the table for equitable access to what we need to prevent outbreaks and emergencies. Our SIDS are too small and vulnerable. Any individual lost in SIDS due to outbreaks is a significant loss in resources.”

Bringing remarks on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Lisa Musai, CARICOM’s Chief Veterinary Officer, reinforced the critical role of agriculture commenting that:

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries is delighted to support this tremendous initiative, recognizing the indispensable role of agriculture in food security, food safety, public health, and agrifood system sustainability. We are committed to working closely with our esteemed partners to implement solutions that not only safeguard our food systems but also protect the health of our people, our animals and our environment..”

Ian Ho-A-Shu, Senior Health Specialist at IDB, took time to applaud CARPHA for achieving early and notable successes through the Pandemic Fund project which has providing funding for the workshop. He reflected that IDB’s technical cooperation agreement with CARPHA to be the implementing partner for the Pandemic Fund project was signed “one year ago, in December 2023, right here at Hilton Trinidad and this conference shows that activities are well-underway in the first year.”

Dr. Ho-A-Shu further stated, “We are so pleased to share that key results have already been achieved, including the event-based disease surveillance system during the T20 Cricket World Cup. CARPHA acted quickly with emergency response support to Caribbean countries to address public health concerns brought about by Hurricane Beryl.”

The workshop, which concludes tomorrow will produce a Regional Action Plan and updated National Action

Plans, solidifying the Caribbean’s position as a leader in One Health integration.