BVI News

CARPHA working with UK agency to fight diseases regionally

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has signed an agreement with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to work together in preventing disease as well as promoting and protecting public health across the Caribbean.

More than one-third of the visitors to the Caribbean are from the United Kingdom. The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Montserrat are also CARPHA member states.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two organisations includes commitments to define strategies for combating infectious disease threats, non-communicable diseases and strengthening outbreak response in Caribbean countries.

The agreement also seeks to build laboratory and workforce capacity, and improve healthy, safe tourism, given that UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean are dependent on tourism.

There is also a specific emphasis on genomic surveillance of high-priority pathogens – which emerged as a new service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both organisations will also be building more capacity to deal with antimicrobial resistance and lessons learned will be shared across field epidemiology and laboratory training programmes at CARPHA and UKHSA.

Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director of CARPHA, said: “I welcome this agreement with UKHSA because CARPHA is committed to maintaining our relationship for the long-term, in order to address a range of public health issues towards improving health and saving lives.”

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3 Comments

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  1. Mould says:

    Something needs to be done about the prevalence of mould in the BVI. It is becoming an invasive species in many of these apartments and offices and these landlords care a hooting funt about the tenants, all they care about is their money. Stringent laws should be put in place to protect tenants from these types of atrocities . Some one had to dump all their furniture and clothes after a wicked landlord rented them an apartment which they later found out was raining and snowing mould few months after they moved in , said landlord blaming them for the mould , all he did was paint over the mould so it was hard to detect until a few months it started resurfacing. Meanwhile this person started feeling sick since they moved to this place and the wicked landlord care Zilch about the situation, all he care about the he is collecting his rent money. This is a wicked criminal act, serious laws needed now!!!

  2. well says:

    It sound like ayo want free apartments? Ayo want to live rent-free in ah we country?

  3. resident says:

    It’s excellent CARPHA is able to work the UK Health Authorities. We are very lucky to maintain these links with the UK.

    We saw it here with the immediate help post Irma and the offer of the loan guarantee (which was of course refused); and with the COVID vaccines and supplies.

    We also saw it with the CoI which was an important wake up call given the terrible infrastructure we have despite the billions of government revenue paid in since the 1980s.

    Thank you, UK!

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