In ensuring that there is regional health security, CARPHA actively engages partners in all technical and diplomatic aspects of this exercise. One important lesson learnt from the experience of managing and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic is meaningful partnerships. We saw the collaboration of the CARICOM institutions from the security cluster, using their respective areas of technical expertise and collective advice, to provide optimal security for the region. CARPHA has found that a successful strategy for integration to equitably provide our services to 26 members is to use networks and mechanisms such as the Inter Agency Technical Committee for implementing the Six-Point Policy Package, the Regional Health Communication Network and the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Health Security. All have been well established at CARPHA to support the integration and coordination of different entities in the interest of the public health of the region. The most recent example of integration is the recent award of the Pandemic Fund in the first round. CARPHA submitted a proposal with the Inter American Development Bank as the implementing entity. The plan is to use the funds to help the CARICOM’s pandemic preparedness and response in tangible ways. Integration efforts that span decades are not without their challenges. Getting political, technical and corporate partners from varied disciplines to work together towards a common goal requires extra efforts to build trust, dedication and a willingness to advance the cause. We are grateful as a region to have witnessed integration in these various dimensions, particularly demonstrated when it was most needed, in a public health crisis. CARPHA will continue to be mindful that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It will continue to actively engage in collaborative and integrated ways of working to achieve its mandate and to contribute to regional public goods through the Caribbean Cooperation in Health framework. ▪
JOY ST JOHN Joy St John was appointed executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency in 2019. From 2017 to 2019, she was assistant director- general of the World Health Organization, responsible for climate and other determinants of health. She served as the chief medical officer of Barbados for more than 12 years, and was the first Caribbean person to chair the executive board of the WHO, from 2012 to 2013. X-TWITTER @CARPHAExDir carpha.org
occasions when necessary to discuss issues affecting the region as a whole and how these can be resolved. One recent example in public health was the integrated approach to the Covid-19 pandemic response. The decisions by the heads were strategic in saving lives and livelihoods. CARPHA was privileged to have been afforded an opportunity to provide technical guidance. COLLABORATION WITH PARTNERS Partnerships have become one of the strongest pillars of support for the successful implementation of many projects. A large share of the available financial resources comes from friendly governments outside the region and from international development partners.
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Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
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