Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. December 15, 2025. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Martinique Cancer Registry, University Hospital of Martinique (MRC-CHUM) will continue to collaborate to increase the quality, availability and use of cancer registry data to inform cancer control planning in the Caribbean region.
Recognising that cancer continues to be a growing public health burden in the Caribbean both CARPHA and MRC-CHUM extended the period of their Principal Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for a further five years, following the ending of the agreement on December 12, 2025.
Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA Executive Director explains the importance of the signing of this renewed Agreement, “Improving the quality, availability, and use of cancer registry data is critical for effective cancer control planning in the Caribbean because it provides an accurate picture of the cancer burden; what types of cancer are most common, who is most affected, and where resources are most needed”.
Dr. Jérôme Le Briere, Chief Executive Officer CHUM pointed out that “many Caribbean countries face high cancer mortality due to late diagnosis and limited resources; therefore, reliable data can go a long way in assisting governments to prioritise interventions such as screening, early detection, and treatment services”.
Dr. Clarisse Joachim, Head of the Martinique Population Based Cancer Registry added, “Stronger cancer registry data helps countries to monitor progress, identify health inequities, and evaluate whether policies and programmes are working, which can contribute to strengthening the Caribbean’s overall response to cancer”.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) will focus in the first instance on furthering the implementation of the “Soutien et Accompagnement pour la Valorisation des Compétences en Innovation et Recherche sur données (SAVOIR)[1] project. The SAVOIR project is co-financed by the INTERREG Caribbean Programme VI under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). SAVOIR is led by teams from the CHUM, the Cancer Research and Development Department (Dr Jacqueline Véronique and Rémi Houpert) and the Clinical Data Centre, which hosts the Hospital's Health Data Warehouse (Dr Emmanuelle Sylvestre). The aim is to go beyond training in cancer case registration and increase the number of professionals trained in digital health, particularly in data expertise, research and information communication in the Caribbean. The expected outcomes based on the collaboration with the SAVOIR project are:
- Contribute to strengthening Caribbean health systems through digital transformation and shared expertise
- Build regional resilience and autonomy in health data management
- Enhance academic and institutional collaboration between French Caribbean territories and CARPHA member states
- Generate high-value educational, scientific, and digital outputs, positioning the Caribbean as a regional leader in health innovation
CARPHA and the Martinique Cancer Registry, alongside the SAVOIR team at the University Hospital of Martinique, are confident that the renewed Memorandum of Understanding will lead to smarter planning, more efficient use of resources, and improved cancer outcomes across the Caribbean region, strengthened by our shared expertise in leveraging and reusing data to address region-specific health challenges.
[1] The English translation is “Smart Action for the Value of Innovation and Research in data” (This is not a word-for-word translation but an adaptation that respects the letters of the acronym)
