On July 3, 2026, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) formally launched the long-awaited Caribbean Regional Emergency Operations Centre (CREOC) during an official inauguration ceremony held at its headquarters in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. This landmark public health infrastructure initiative, funded by the European Union through the 11th European Development Fund’s Health Security Strengthening Programme, marks a major step forward in the Caribbean’s collective ability to confront cross-border public health risks.
The opening ceremony was co-led by three key stakeholders: Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Health Dr. Lackram Bodoe, European Union Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Her Excellency Cécile Tassin, and CARPHA Executive Director Dr. Lisa Indar, underscoring the shared regional and international commitment to strengthening Caribbean health resilience. Designed to function as the central coordinating hub for public health emergency action across CARPHA’s 26 member states, the new facility fills a critical gap in the region’s disaster and outbreak response framework.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Bodoe emphasized that health security is inherently a collective responsibility. “No single country, regardless of its available resources, can tackle the modern cross-border public health threats we face today alone,” he noted. “Our greatest strength comes from intentional partnership and regional collaboration.” Dr. Indar echoed this sentiment, pointing to the unique vulnerabilities of the Caribbean’s Small Island Developing States that make coordinated action non-negotiable. “Our economies, borders, and communities are deeply interconnected, which means any public health threat can spread across the entire region in a very short timeframe,” she explained. “This new operations centre will dramatically upgrade our capacity to detect threats early, align regional response efforts, and safeguard the health and well-being of all Caribbean people.”
Ambassador Tassin framed the CREOC as more than just a physical facility—it is a tangible symbol of regional solidarity. “This Centre represents the Caribbean’s shared determination to work together, strengthen regional health security, and protect its people through collective preparedness and pooled expertise,” she said.
The facility has been built and structured in full alignment with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Public Health Emergency Operations Centre Framework, and has earned a Type C classification—the highest operational ranking under the WHO’s global system. This classification enables the CREOC to coordinate large-scale, complex public health emergencies that span multiple countries, while also providing critical support to national emergency operations centres across the Caribbean.
Powered by CARPHA’s custom-built Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance and Response System (RIEWSS), a tool tailored specifically to the Caribbean’s unique public health landscape, the centre leverages advanced surveillance technology to speed up early threat detection and improve situational awareness for decision-makers. When paired with standardized timeliness metrics and integrated multi-sector response mechanisms, the system is expected to cut response times and improve coordination between member states during crises. Beyond outbreak monitoring, the CREOC will serve as the central regional coordination point for ministries of health, national disaster management agencies, regional intergovernmental bodies, and international partner organizations. It will oversee deployment of specialized technical response teams, coordinate emergency logistics, lead region-wide risk communication efforts, and maintain a unified, real-time operating picture for all stakeholders during public health events.
The development of the CREOC was directly shaped by hard-won lessons from recent regional crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, repeated large-scale dengue outbreaks, and climate-driven disasters including Hurricanes Melissa and Beryl all exposed critical gaps in fragmented regional coordination, creating a clear urgency for a dedicated central hub. To adapt to the full range of possible scenarios, the centre will operate under a flexible scalable activation model, ranging from routine daily surveillance and monitoring to full-scale regional emergency activation, allowing CARPHA to rapidly scale up coordination efforts as situations evolve.
Moving forward, the CREOC will lead and support regional responses to a broad spectrum of public health emergencies, including infectious disease outbreaks, severe weather events that carry public health risks, environmental and chemical incidents, mass gatherings, and any other emergency with regional or international public health implications. It will also support Caribbean countries in meeting their obligations under the International Health Regulations (2005) by strengthening regional surveillance systems, emergency coordination, operational readiness, and cross-border information management.
For CARPHA, the inauguration of the Regional Emergency Operations Centre reflects the agency’s long-standing commitment to advancing regional health security and ensuring all Caribbean nations are better prepared to confront both existing and emerging public health threats in the years ahead.