O-21 Establishing the CARPHA integrated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) programme: a regional partnership and One Health approach
Author(s):
M Elsherbiny, M Dryden, C Brown, G González‑Escobar , N Wright, L Indar
Country(ies) Of Focus:
- CARPHA Member States
- CARICOM Countries
Year of Presentation:
2026
Objective: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating global health and health security threat, associated with substantial mortality, economic loss, and increased vulnerability to pandemics. Small island developing states (SIDS), including those of the Caribbean, face disproportionate challenges due to constrained laboratory capacity, fragmented surveillance, porous borders and limited access to advanced diagnostics. This report describes the design, funding, and implementation of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Integrated AMR Programme.
Methods: The programme is jointly funded and strategically driven by projects supported through the Fleming Fund and the Pandemic Fund and was accelerated through structured technical collaboration with the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Development followed a phased methodology comprising funding mobilisation, expert secondments through the establishment of the Caribbean AMR Alliance (CARA), joint laboratory capacity assessments, wide technical consultation, and workforce strengthening across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.
Results: Programme achievements include the expansion of the CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory (CMML) as the regional AMR reference laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2025; the establishment and full equipping of two additional regional AMR reference laboratories in Jamaica and St Lucia during to be fully operational by February 2026; the delivery of coordinated regional and targeted antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) training in May, August, and November 2025; and the operationalisation of the Caribbean AMR Alliance (CARA) as a regional accelerator for AMR development following its formal launch in April 2025.
Conclusion: The CARPHA Integrated AMR Programme demonstrates how aligned global financing, strategic technical partnerships, and One Health principles can be translated into sustainable regional AMR surveillance and response systems. The experience provides a replicable model for other regions seeking to leverage global AMR momentum into durable public health capacity.