The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has launched a groundbreaking emergency preparedness program in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). The initiative, formally inaugurated at The Brix, Autograph Collection, represents a strategic advancement in regional health security planning.
Funded through CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund Project with the Inter-American Development Bank as implementing agency, this comprehensive five-day simulation exercise (March 16-20, 2026) brings together 24 public health specialists from seven Caribbean nations and CARPHA itself. Participants span critical disciplines including disease surveillance, laboratory services, risk communication, and infection control, reflecting the multifaceted nature of outbreak management.
The program addresses the Caribbean’s unique vulnerabilities: its archipelago geography of interconnected islands, open borders, tourism-dependent economies, and climate change impacts. These factors, compounded by infrastructure disparities, create ideal conditions for rapid disease transmission. Recent years have witnessed increasing health emergencies including dengue, chikungunya, measles, and cholera outbreaks alongside intensifying hurricane seasons.
International expertise supplements the effort with specialists from US and European CDC branches, the University of Western Australia, Brazil’s Fiocruz foundation, the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, and the Pan American Health Organization. Unlike conventional training, this initiative employs operational simulation—immersing participants in realistic outbreak scenarios to test response capabilities under sustained pressure.
During the opening ceremony, CARPHA Executive Director Dr. Lisa Indar emphasized the program’s critical timing: “The Caribbean’s dynamics demand a well-trained, coordinated, rapid, and multidisciplinary response. An outbreak can arise with little warning, and our response effectiveness determines whether it remains contained or escalates into a full-blown crisis.”
GOARN Manager Armand Bejtullahu highlighted the program’s role in workforce development: “Effective outbreak response depends on a ready, well-coordinated workforce. Through our partnership with CARPHA, we’re ensuring responders have the tools and capabilities needed for rapid emergency action.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister, Honourable Dr. Lackram Bodoe, endorsed the initiative as “a shared journey toward resilience, unity, and preparedness in the face of global health threats.”
This simulation marks the second phase of the GOARN initiative, building upon an August 2025 orientation workshop that trained 34 responders from ten member states. By enhancing regional expertise, the program aims to strengthen coordinated interventions against emerging infectious diseases, ultimately bolstering national and regional health resilience amid ongoing public health threats.