RHS Meeting 2022

Regional Health Security – The Way Forward
Laboratory Directors Meeting
Plenary Meeting

Stakeholder Consultations on Regional Health Security:
The Way Forward

July 19th 2022

Regional Health Security (RHS) encompasses the capacities required for Member States to prepare for and respond to major public health threats, issues and concerns that transcend national boundaries and potentially impact on economic and political stability, trade, tourism, and access to goods and services in the region. The transboundary spread of infectious diseases is one of the greatest threats to global health security. The devastating global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reiterates the crucial necessity for regional and global health security to protect and improve health.

The Caribbean is characterized by small, diverse populations of varying levels of development, surveillance and laboratory capacities, close, interconnected, porous borders, vulnerability to disasters and climatic change, high dependence on tourism, and a complex mosaic of public health (PH) conditions.

The complex challenges faced with the myriad of infectious diseases necessitate multi-faceted, integrated, sustained, and harmonized efforts across multiple sectors, with regional and international partners, public health agencies, and other key stakeholders supporting CARPHA Member States (CMS) to advance towards strengthening public health systems, capacity, and security. As economies re-open, CARPHA is refocusing on strengthening RHS and sustainable mechanisms to promote resilience and economic recovery, by building back better as a result of the pandemic. It is thus imperative to gain input and consensus from relevant stakeholders : Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), public health agencies (PHAs), international development partners (IDP) , CARICOM and other regional entities on the operationalization of a comprehensive regional RHS pathway, effective RCHMS coordination, 5-year GHSA Roadmap that will provide accurate, timely and relevant information for early warning and timely response to public health threats, decision-making, action and policy for CMS and other stakeholders.

Objectives

To document current needs and priorities for building the Region’s capacities necessary to prevent, detect, and respond to public health crises.
To gain harmonised consensus from relevant stakeholders CMOs, PHAs, IDPs CARICOM and other regional entities on the proposed Regional Health Security pathway and the RHS priority activities.
To identify technical and financial support for implementation of the activities in the RHS pathway
To gain consensus on RCM-HS coordination
To document recommendations for updating the 5-year GHSA Roadmap

Opening Ceremony Programme
8:30am	Registration
9:00am	Welcome and Objectives Dr. Lisa Indar
9:05am	Opening Remarks Dr. Joy St John, CARPHA
9:15am	Short Greetings by Public Health Agencies and CARICOM WHO, PAHO, UKHSA, PHAC, CARICOM
9:30am	Address on Global Health Security Prof Richard Garfield, CDC
9:40am	Message from Minister of Health, Trinidad and Tobago The Honourable Dr Terrance Deyalsingh

Laboratory Services, Systems and Networks

July 20th 2022

Regional Health Security encompasses the capacities required for Member States to prepare for and respond to major public health threats, issues and concerns that transcend national boundaries and potentially impact on economic and political stability, trade, tourism, and access to goods and services in the Region.

Objective

To discuss and gain input on CARPHA’s integrated surveillance work, as it pertains to improving RHS (inclusive of enhancing its surveillance systems to promote early warning and response to ongoing, new and emerging public health threats, laboratory surveillance, biosafety and biosecurity), and bolstering regional and national capacity.

Sessions

Session 1:

To discuss and gain input on CARPHA’s integrated surveillance and laboratory work, as it pertains to improving RHS (inclusive of enhancing its various surveillance systems to promote early warning and response to ongoing, new and emerging public health threats, laboratory surveillance.
Session 2: Review of Testing and Reference Services

To discuss and gain input on current and proposed testing and reference services offered by CARPHA and the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the level of uptake by the CARPHA Member States.
Session 3: Specialized Testing Services

To update the CARPHA Member States on advances in testing services in virology and bacteriology and the status of the testing services offered for new and emerging pathogens.
Session 4: CariPHLN

To discuss the role of Caribbean Public Health Laboratory Network (CariPHLN) and the way forward.
Session 5: Biosafety & Biosecurity

To discuss and gain input on the need for Biosafety & Biosecurity Programmes in the CMTs as well as the current status and proposed priority activities for CMS.
Session 6: Operational Considerations

To discuss and gain input on operational activities required for laboratory capacity building and sustainability.

Plenary Meeting with Multisectoral Country Stakeholders

July 21st 2022

Weakened and inefficient public health systems broaden the gap in responding to public health concerns in a timely and effective manner. Similar challenges are faced, including lack of human resources, under-resourced laboratories, inadequate health technologies, insufficient information, and financial resources. The absence of critical surveillance, epidemiological and GIS, operational real time surveillance, cohesive communication networks, and participation of non-health actors worsen the performance of public health systems within CMS. These factors leave a country and the region vulnerable to public health threats, especially infectious disease outbreaks, that jeopardize regional and global health security.

Enhanced strategies are required to strengthen capacity, bolster public health surveillance and response systems, improve laboratory systems, and improve overall public health diplomacy.