The Fifteenth Special Council for Human and Social Development – Health was Chaired by Sen. the Hon. Ann Peter, Minister of Health, Grenada. The Meeting was attended by eight (8) other CARICOM Ministers of Health and officials from twelve (12) Member States. The Fifteenth COHSOD Meeting received a Report from the Meeting of the Steering Committee and Advisory Group of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) which was convened at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Trinidad and Tobago, on 4 February 2010. The objective of the Fifteenth COHSOD was essentially to examine the Transition Plan and three (3) costing scenarios of CARPHA provided in a Report from the Consultants, TDV International Inc, approved by the Steering Committee.

The COHSOD 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 (NCDs); and the Progress Report from the University of the West Indies (UWI) on the implementation of a Doctoral Degree Programme in Public Health Leadership.

The COHSOD agreed to a timetable for the transition of the five (5) Regional Health Institutions (RHIs) 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 of an Implementation Team; an Integrated Management System; an Executive Board and a Project Management Unit located in the CARICOM Secretariat. In addition, 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 (IGA) 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 Organisation (PAHO), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Centre for Disease Control (CDC); and the Governments of the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago, for their contributions so far to the establishment of CARPHA.

The COHSOD extended its appreciation to Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana for his effective Chairmanship of the Steering Committee over the past two (2) years.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org