Departments

The day-to-day operations of CARPHA are managed through three divisions. These divisions are:

Office of the Executive Director (OED)

Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit (SDPC)

Corporate Services

Office of the Executive Director (OED)

Dr. Lisa Indar

Ad Interim Executive Director

Caribbean Regulatory System helps CARPHA Member States (CMS) perform key pharmaceutical regulatory functions. It conducts verification reviews of product dossiers for the safety, quality and efficacy of essential medicines and vaccines, to ensure products are the same as approved by designated "reference authorities". It then recommends those favourably verified for marketing authorisation in CMS on an accelerated timeline because many CMS lack the staff resources to do this on their own. In addition to accelerating access to quality products, another benefit of the CRS is that companies can work with one set of requirements and a streamlined processing time, rather than the fragmented range that exists across the Caribbean. The CRS carries out pharmacovigilance and post-market surveillance, through the VigiCarib reporting platform and the CARPHA’s Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department. Major partners of the CRS include PAHO and WHO.

Chronic Diseases and Injury (CDI) Department provides leadership, strategic direction, coordinates and implements technical cooperation activities directed towards the prevention and control of Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) in CMS. Global, regional, and sub-regional commitments provide the framework for action, such as the 2007 Port of Spain Declaration on NCDs, Caribbean Cooperation in Health , United Nations (UN) Political Declarations on NCDs and UN SDGs. To prevent and control NCDs, CARPHA carries out its mandate through the following areas of work:

NCD Surveillance
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Food Security and Nutrition
Injuries Prevention
Mental Health and Substance Use
Integrated Disease Management
Research
Training and Capacity Building
Policies and Plans

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has an important role as the regional focal point for research for health. The PPR Unit of CARPHA is entrusted with the Agency’s Health Research Council functions. This includes the promotion, coordination, guidance and governance of research to inform policy, practice and health programming. The overall aim of which is to improve health and facilitate development in the Caribbean. The Unit also plays a supportive and facilitative role to the Member States in establishing or strengthening their national health research systems. The Annual Health Research Conference, the Caribbean Network of Research Ethics Committee (CANREC), the Agency’s Research Ethics Committee and the delivery of a suite of Research Skills-Building Workshops are some mechanisms used to achieve the Unit’s mandate.

The sustainability of CARPHA is supported through the development and implementation of strategies to secure financial and non-financial resources from traditional and non-traditional partnerships. This is coordinated by the Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships (RMP) Unit. Central to the work of this Unit is the recognition that solutions to public health requires multi-sectoral collaboration and action. The RMP Unit therefore assists the Agency in maintaining existing partnerships and developing new relationships while simultaneously building the capacity of staff to effectively engage with our partners.

The Senior Technical Officer (OECS Health Unit) works in close collaboration with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission. The Officer functions in a multi-disciplinary manner and is responsible for the coordination of all public health initiatives of CARPHA within the OECS Sub-Region. This includes, seeking additional funding to complement resources received by CARPHA which excludes the OECS sub region; intensive liaison with technical and management units within CARPHA; OECS Commission; and at regional and global levels, with other relevant partners. The thrust of this portfolio is to support public health programmes in the OECS Sub-region to ensure that in-country needs are clearly identified and that the services to be delivered by CARPHA are contained in the Agency’s work programme.

Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit (SDPC)

The EHSD Department supports the Caribbean’s sustainable development agenda by playing a lead role in environmental management for optimal public health. Embedded within EHSD are a number of programmes and projects geared towards management of the environmental determinants of health and wellbeing:

The Caribbean Aqua-Terrestrial Solutions (CATS) project advances adaptation to climate change and builds resilience in terrestrial and marine and coastal resources using a ridge-to-reef (R2R) approach;
The Environmental Health Laboratory (EHL), provides analytical services and supports the testing and assessments to facilitate implementation of environmental management programmes in the Member States;
Awareness and training initiatives in sustainable production and consumption through advocating reduction and re-use of waste products;
Occupational safety and health (OSH) programmes including assessments of indoor environments to detect potential hazards and evaluate the risk to human health.

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This department effectively consists of three sub-divisions:

1. Health Information: Systematically compiles information on CARPHA Member States (CMS) such as epidemiological surveillance and mortality data. It is analyzed and made available to CMS through feedback using various forums.
2. Communicable Disease (CD): Monitors CDs through surveillance systems to provide early warning of potential public health threats, from both abroad and within the Region. Through this, it also supports the Regional Coordinating Mechanism on Health Security (RCMHS).
3. Emergency Response: If requested, remote or on-field technical assistance can be provided to CMS in controlling outbreaks of infectious diseases. The Agency also works with the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and other agencies in responding to natural disasters and the threat they pose to public health.

CARPHA’s Medical Laboratory Department aims to strengthen sub-regional and national capacities in communicable disease surveillance and risk assessment. The main function of this department is to provide laboratory reference and referral services; capacity development; technology transfer; monitoring; and research of diseases of public health importance. Laboratory results provided allow CARPHA Member States (CMS) to plan, implement and evaluate public health practice, thereby preventing and controlling disease outbreaks. In recognition of the limited laboratory testing capacity available in smaller nations, CARPHA may also provide primary testing services, thereby facilitating region-wide advanced laboratory capabilities.

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MQCSD’s function is to protect the people of the Caribbean by testing medicines to verify their compliance to international standards for quality, safety and efficacy, supporting the work of national medicines regulatory authorities/ procurement bodies.

Through its laboratory services, which include a risk-based post-market surveillance programme and testing for countries based on their regulatory needs, MQCSD helps the Region to confirm the continued good quality of products, build confidence in national and regional supply, and detect substandard or falsified products enabling countries to take appropriate regulatory actions. Ensuring access to competent laboratory services strengthens access to good quality, safe and reliable medicines, in keeping with CARPHA’s mandate to prevent diseases, promote and protect health.

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Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is a cross-cutting area that supports integrated public health surveillance under the Surveillance, Disease Prevention, and Control Division. The M&E Unit provides technical assistance and support to strengthen regional and national monitoring and evaluation systems. It supports effective evidence-based public health interventions, programmes, and policies through systems design and capacity building. It also assists CARPHA Member States in reporting on national, regional, and global public health commitments. The Unit supports the evaluation of public health interventions, programmes, and policies.
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The Caribbean economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which in turn is vulnerable to health, food safety and environmental sanitation (HSE) threats. The mission of the THP is to improve countries’ capacities to provide cost-effective and quality HSE solutions to threats impacting sustainable tourism. Components of this include:

1.Web-based, real-time, early alert monitoring systems for tourism-based health issues,
2.Training and certification in HSE to reduce the prevalence of contaminated food and water, and
3.Caribbean-wide tourism HSE standards.

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Vector-Borne Diseases (VBD) Unit at CARPHA aims to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with VBDs by strengthening regional and national capacity for disease detection, prevention and control of key vectors. The strategic approach of the Unit is based primarily on the foundations for Integrated Vector Management (IVM), which involves multi-sectoral approaches geared towards improving human health. The key activities of the Unit are:

Epidemiological Disease Surveillance
Entomological Surveillance
Evaluation of New Vector Control Technologies
Climate and Health Research
Emergency and Disaster Response

The Unit partners with internal and external stakeholders to promote behavioural change.

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Dr. Horace Cox

Acting Director - Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit

Corporate Services

Dr. Mark Sami

Director - Corporate Services

Corporate Services Division ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of the Agency’s services and operations. This is accomplished through the provision of corporate-wide services, inclusive of Communications, Budget and Finance, Human Resources Management, Information Technology, Facilities Management and Procurement. Additionally, to support project implementation for the Agency, the Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) is housed under this Division.

CARPHA HEAD OFFICE

16-18 Jamaica Blvd,
Federation Park,
Port of Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago
(+868) 299-0820
(+868) 299-0895
(+868) 622-4261
postmaster@carpha.org

CARPHA JAMAICA

Hope Gardens,
Kingston 6,
Jamaica
(+876) 977-3540
(+876) 702-4235

CARPHA ST. LUCIA

P.O. Box 1111,
The Morne, Castries,
Saint Lucia
(+758) 452-2501
(+758) 452-1087
(+758) 453-2721

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Departments

Departments

Office of the Executive Director (OED)

Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit (SDPC)

Corporate Services

Office of the Executive Director (OED)

Dr. Lisa Indar

Ad Interim Executive Director

Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS)

Chronic Disease and Injury (CDI)

Policy Planning and Research (PPR)

Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships

OECS Technical Officer

Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit (SDPC)

Environmental Health and Sustainable Development (EHSD)

Health Information, Communicable Disease and Emergency Response (HCE)

Medical Microbiology Laboratory

Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department (MQCSD)

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Tourism and Health Program (THP)

Vector Borne Diseases Unit

Dr. Horace Cox

Acting Director - Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Unit

Corporate Services

Dr. Mark Sami

Director - Corporate Services

CARPHA HEAD OFFICE

CARPHA JAMAICA

CARPHA ST. LUCIA

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