Health Systems Strengthening for CARICOM Member States to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Emerging and Re-emerging Threats

Overall Objective/Impact:

The overall objective of the Project is to contribute to efforts to improve health outcomes across the CARICOM region.

Specific Objective(s):

The specific purpose of the Project is to strengthen health systems across CARICOM Member States and CARPHA to prevent, control and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging and re-emerging threats and to generate evidence and information to inform decision-making on the management of public health priorities and emergencies and disease control programmes and policies.

Expected Results/Outputs:

Evidence of the Caribbean public health preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic documented.
Evidence of the Caribbean Cooperation in Health Phase IV (CCH-IV), Sustainable Development Goal 3, and other SDG health-related targets documented
Strengthened capacities of CARICOM Member States’ health systems to treat COVID-19 patients; and
Improved capacity of CARICOM Member States to care for COVID-19 patients based on Spanish experience

CARPHA Programmatic Area(s):

Project Information

Status: Ongoing

Start Date: October 13, 2021

End Date: April 12, 2024

Duration: Thirty (30) Months

Budget: $ 1,189,247.00

Source(s) of Funding:

$ 1,000,000.00 from the Government of Spain, through the Joint Fund for CARICOM-Spain Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The balance of $189,247.00 will be provided by CARPHA as Counterpart Contributions.

Beneficiary CARPHA Member State(s):

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad, and Tobago

Focal Point(s):

Ms. Patricia Smith-Cummings
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Surveillance, Disease, Prevention and Control (SDPC)
Email: smithcpa@carpha.org

Overview of Project
Media

Overview of Project

The CARICOM-Spain Scientific and Technical Cooperation seeks to improve data-informed decision making and promote greater learning. Through the project, the capacity of CARICOM Countries, including Trinidad and Tobago will be enhanced to generate and use data and evidence for more effective policy, programs and monitoring of global and regional targets and commitments. CARPHA serves as the regional hub for health information and utilizes a participatory approach through coordinated action to improve the availability of high-quality data in countries and regionally to collect, manage, analyse, disseminate, and use health information. Functional Monitoring and Evaluation Systems improves the measures the results of the heath system and demonstrates accountability for public health outcomes. This also facilitates increased availability of data and strategic information through strategic information products including fact sheets, M&E briefs, best practices, and lessons learned to promote knowledge sharing and greater learning. Furthermore, it will allow the Caribbean region to more accurately measure and monitor progress towards progress towards the achievements of the Caribbean Cooperation in Health Phase IV (CCH-IV), Sustainable Development Goal 3, COVID-19 Response, and other SDG health-related targets. Through the initiatives outlined, CARICOM countries will be supported to effectively use the information generated to inform country response to public health priorities.

CARICOM Countries will have improved capacities to better prepare and respond to biological threats of public health concern because of the provision of laboratory and medical supplies and equipment including PPE, COVID-19 testing kits and supporting reagents, and PCR automatic sample extraction equipment.