In a communiqué Caricom said the objective of the meeting was to examine the Transition Plan and three costing scenarios of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) provided in a Report from the Consultants, TDV International Inc, approved by the Steering Committee. The Fifteenth Special Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) – Health meeting was chaired by Grenada Minister of Health Ann Peter and attended by eight other Caricom ministers of health and officials from 12 member states.
The meeting also discussed the status of the Region’s intervention in Haiti, in particular, the proposal for a Caricom Health initiative. It further discussed the Report on the Establishment of a Caricom Regional Health Insurance Scheme; the implementation of the strategy for promoting a Wellness Revolution in the Caribbean, resulting from the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration on Uniting to Fight Non-Communicable Diseases; and the Progress Report from the University of the West Indies on the implementation of a Doctoral Degree Programme in Public Health Leadership.
The COHSOD agreed to a timetable for the transition of the five Regional Health Institutions into one authority between 2010 and 2014. The main recommendations on the Transition Plan for the establishment of CARPHA included the approval of an Implementation Plan comprising an Implementation Team; an Integrated Management System; an Executive Board and a Project Management Unit located in the Caricom Secretariat.
Additionally, the Trinidad and Tobago government which has agreed to host CARPHA presented a Business Plan to accelerate implementation in the transition period between now and 2014 when CARPHA is expected to become fully operational. The COHSOD also recommended that the Inter-Governmental Agreement to establish CARPHA be approved by member states in time for the inauguration of the CARPHA Executive Board in May 2010. The COHSOD also agreed on a Strategy for Resource Mobilisation; a Donors Meeting in March/April 2010 and expressed its gratitude to the Pan American Health Organization, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Centre for Disease Control; and the governments of the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago, for their contributions so far to establish CARPHA.
The COHSOD also extended its appreciation to Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy for his effective Chairmanship of the Steering Committee over the past two years.
