CARPHA
Encyclopedia
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
The creation of the new Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) was approved by the Caribbean
Heads of Government in March 2010. CARPHA will replace and build on the work of the Caribbean Community’s five Regional Health Institutions (RHIs), following a phased transition period commencing in December 2010 and proposed to end in 2014. The RHI's are: Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), the Caribbean Health Research Centre (CHRC) and the Caribbean Research and Drug Treatment Laboratory (CRDTL). It is expected that the new agency will be headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago
.
CARPHA's purpose is to draw together and build on public health
knowledge and expertise across the Caribbean,
preventing duplication of effort and resources. This will facilitate a coordinated approach to public health issues including
managing the risk of disease
outbreaks in the Caribbean region. The work to tansition from the existing RHIs' to the fully implmentaitn of CARPHA is being supported by CARICOM and PAHO/WHO. According the CARICOM site CARPHA has two aspects to its mission: Firstly the provision of strategic direction in analysing, defining and responding to public health priorities of the member countries so as to prevent disease, promote health and to respond to public health emergencies;Secondly to act as a key entity in providing for solidarity in health of the region. In short CARPHA intends to build on the successes achieved by the disease model, by taking people-centred approach to Public Health
. The objectives of CARPHA are as follows:
1. To provide countries with reference and referral services as well as laboratory strengthening.
2. To conduct surveillance of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
3. To provide leadership in defining effective public health interventions in the Caribbean.
4. To provide, accurate reliable timely and relevant public health information to various Caribbean and international audiences.
5. To coordinate effective responses to public health crises in the Caribbean.
6. To enhance national capacities to deliver public health goods and services to public health priorities in the Caribbean.
7. To mobilise resources for priority public health issues.
CARPHA has been officially launched at a partners conference 14 June 2010 and at the Global Health Forum on 16 June of the same year.
The creation of the new Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) was approved by the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
Heads of Government in March 2010. CARPHA will replace and build on the work of the Caribbean Community’s five Regional Health Institutions (RHIs), following a phased transition period commencing in December 2010 and proposed to end in 2014. The RHI's are: Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), the Caribbean Health Research Centre (CHRC) and the Caribbean Research and Drug Treatment Laboratory (CRDTL). It is expected that the new agency will be headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
.
CARPHA's purpose is to draw together and build on public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
knowledge and expertise across the Caribbean,
preventing duplication of effort and resources. This will facilitate a coordinated approach to public health issues including
managing the risk of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
outbreaks in the Caribbean region. The work to tansition from the existing RHIs' to the fully implmentaitn of CARPHA is being supported by CARICOM and PAHO/WHO. According the CARICOM site CARPHA has two aspects to its mission: Firstly the provision of strategic direction in analysing, defining and responding to public health priorities of the member countries so as to prevent disease, promote health and to respond to public health emergencies;Secondly to act as a key entity in providing for solidarity in health of the region. In short CARPHA intends to build on the successes achieved by the disease model, by taking people-centred approach to Public Health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. The objectives of CARPHA are as follows:
1. To provide countries with reference and referral services as well as laboratory strengthening.
2. To conduct surveillance of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
3. To provide leadership in defining effective public health interventions in the Caribbean.
4. To provide, accurate reliable timely and relevant public health information to various Caribbean and international audiences.
5. To coordinate effective responses to public health crises in the Caribbean.
6. To enhance national capacities to deliver public health goods and services to public health priorities in the Caribbean.
7. To mobilise resources for priority public health issues.
CARPHA has been officially launched at a partners conference 14 June 2010 and at the Global Health Forum on 16 June of the same year.