Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. March 31, 2026. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is pleased to announce the successful installation of Molbio rapid testing platforms across ten (10) CARPHA Member States under the Pandemic Fund Project.
As of March 26, 2026, installations have been completed in Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. These platforms strengthen the Region’s capacity for rapid testing and response to infectious diseases and pathogens of pandemic potential.
The systems support testing for several pathogens of public health importance, including SARS-CoV-2, Norovirus, Rabies, Leptospira, Salmonella, Cholera, Nipah, Influenza, Malaria, HIV, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis. Through improved access to PCR rapid testing technologies, CARPHA and Member States are strengthening regional pandemic preparedness and response capacities.
“The successful completion of the Molbio installations across our Member States represents a transformative step in advancing regional laboratory capacity,” said Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA. “By combining cutting-edge diagnostic technology with targeted workforce training, CARPHA is ensuring that countries are better prepared to detect, respond to and manage public health threats in real time”.
Building a Skilled Laboratory Workforce
In parallel with the installation of the platforms, CARPHA has trained over 50 laboratory professionals across participating Member States in the use and operation of the systems. This investment in workforce development strengthens technical capacity within national laboratory networks and supports sustainability of these diagnostic services.
Advancing Pandemic Preparedness and Regional Resilience
The importance of rapid deployment was demonstrated in Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, where the platform was installed and laboratory staff trained within days of the event to support continued testing capacity and emergency response readiness.
These modern diagnostic resources have strengthened the Region’s ability to detect infectious diseases quickly, confirm outbreaks earlier, and support effective public health action to mitigate or avert threats to lives and livelihoods. By reducing testing turnaround times from days to under two hours, the introduction of rapid PCR molecular testing tools supports earlier diagnosis, faster isolation of cases, and improved containment of infectious diseases.
The initiative also contributes to:
- Enhanced regional surveillance systems
- Improved outbreak detection and response
- Strengthened early warning systems
- Increased resilience of national health systems
A Continued Commitment to Regional Health Security
CARPHA remains committed to supporting Member States through integrated laboratory networks under the Caribbean Public Health Laboratory Network (CariPHLN) and through continued investments in laboratory strengthening and pandemic preparedness.
Next steps include routine testing at all 10 participating Member States, with data shared weekly with CARPHA through the Molbio reporting sheet. This will support timely integration of data into regional surveillance systems and ongoing monitoring of the Molbio platforms. The strengthened reporting mechanism will enhance early warning systems by providing CARPHA and Member States with timely information to initiate response measures to emerging public health threats.
Photo Captions:
Photo Caption: Molbio installations in Guyana, Turks and Caicos Islands and Trinidad and Tobago respectively.
Photo Caption: Molbio installations in Bahamas, Belize, Grenada and Jamaica respectively.
About the Pandemic Fund Project
CARPHA is the Executing Agency for the PF Project, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Implementing Entity. The goal of this Project, which spans from 2024 to 2026, is to Reduce the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR). The objective is to support the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic PPR surveillance and early warning systems, laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and at country levels. This will reduce the transboundary spread of infectious diseases and improve regional and global health security. CARPHA is the beneficiary of the PF project and CARPHA Member States are the participants. Learn more via CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund webpage.
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