The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has launched a five-day, in-person training workshop under the Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (CR-FELTP) – Level II, aimed at strengthening public health response capacity across the region.
It runs from Monday through to Friday at the Kapok Hotel. The initiative is being deemed as a critical part of CARPHA’s ongoing efforts to build regional resilience against public health threats through workforce development.
This year’s FELTP Level II cohort includes eleven (11) trainees from five CARPHA Member States—Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, and Turks & Caicos Islands—representing key public health sectors, including epidemiology, surveillance, laboratory science, and environmental health. Participants will gain advanced training in disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and epidemiological data analysis using specialized tools like Epi Info (a statistical software suite designed for epidemiological data analysis and disease surveillance, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC).
Building a Skilled Public Health Workforce
Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA, welcomed participants and underscored the importance of the training, “Strengthening the public health workforce is one of the most crucial investments we can make to safeguard the Caribbean against emerging and re-emerging health threats. This training equips our Member States with highly skilled professionals who can detect, analyse, and respond rapidly to public health emergencies. CARPHA has long been committed to building a sustainable epidemiology workforce, and the support from the Pandemic Fund further enables us to expand and enhance these efforts across the region.”
The workshop follows a One Health approach, incorporating human, animal, and environmental health perspectives to improve multi-sectoral collaboration in disease surveillance and public health response.
