International partners to help Caricom operationalise digital health strategy

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat says the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank (WB) will partner with Caricom to operationalise the Caricom Digital Health Strategy. In a statement, it said the agreement was reached during last weekend’s 53rd Meeting of the Caricom Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)—Health, held in Washington under the theme “Transforming Caribbean Health: Resilience, Innovation and Regional Action”. According to the Secretariat, the commitments by the international organisations came as ministers reaffirmed the mandate to develop a Caricom Digital Health Strategy through a Caricom-led, member state-driven process. It said the ministers underscored the importance of digital health in transforming health systems, including stronger service delivery, primary health care, workforce management, public-health surveillance, civil registration, health financing, and evidence-informed decision-making. ”They emphasised that the strategy must build on existing regional and national frameworks, systems, and investments, ensuring member states remain central to its development. Caricom health ministers also discussed practical approaches to universal health coverage, sustainable financing and opportunities for regional cooperation, with further commitments from the World Bank, PAHO, and UWI-HEU to support these efforts,” the statement said. It said that the meeting was also attended by officials from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), as well as international partners like the Global Fund, PAHO and the World Health Organization (WHO). “Together, leaders articulated a clear vision for the future: a Caribbean health architecture that is more connected, resilient, equitable, and sustainable,” the statement said.