PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) said it has signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to achieve Caribbean Regional Health Security (CHRS).
Japan’s ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Tatsuo Hirayama, and CARPHA executive director, Dr. Joy St. John, and Dr. Mark Sami, Director of Corporate Services, CARPHA at signing ceremony (Photo credit: CARPHA/Joseph Charles)In a statement issued over the last weekend, CARPHA said that CHRS will be achieved through the building of core capacity within CARPHA to prevent, detect, respond to and control infectious disease outbreaks.
It said based on the request from CARPHA and the decision of the government of Japan, JICA, an implementing organization of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), is collaborating on a new technical cooperation project including provision of testing kits and laboratory equipment worth one million US dollars.
JICA chief representative based in St. Lucia, Hiroyasu Tonokawa, said that the Caribbean region is not removed from threats of COVID-19, such as high number of cases, lower vaccination coverage and weak economic recovery.
He said that the project will contribute to strengthening CARPHA’s diagnostic testing capacity, including its ability to adequately report to member states, thus promoting and enhancing the systems of prevention, detection and response for public health events and events that significantly threaten health security within CARPHA member states.
Under the project Advancing Regional Health Security for Prevention and Control of Outbreaks of Communicable Diseases in the Caribbean, a significant sum will be allocated to the purchase of reagents and supplies for genome sequencing.
Additionally, the grant will support the purchase of reagents for regular testing, purchasing of a centrifuge machine and a purification machine. The grant will also support CARPHA’s Laboratory Information System, and training of laboratory staff to keep abreast of advancements in testing techniques and practices.
CARPHA’s executive director, Dr. Joy St. John, thanked Japan for the continued and considerate support to fight this COVID-19 pandemic.
“All of this goes towards the prevention and control of outbreaks of communicable diseases in the Caribbean. This contribution will enhance the capacity of the CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory and will go a long way towards providing critical and much-needed support to the region, especially now that we are seeing the presence of many variants and increases in cases region wide.”
Dr. St. John said CARPHA is currently executing two projects with funding from the Japan, while another two were recently concluded, and another one is expected to be signed in the near future.
Japan’s ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Tatsuo Hirayama, said that the signing will kick start the project in the fight against the pandemic.
“The government of Japan and CARPHA have been enjoying great cooperation, and we have to continue our joint efforts and collaboration to deal with the prolonging pandemic,” he added.
