CARICOM heads of government formally approved the plans for the implementation of CARPHA. A cross section of partners are invited to join in a discussion of the CARPHA Implementation Plan which maps out the establishment of a fully functional agency by the latter half of 2014. This initiative among 12 member states of the Caribbean community and five associate members is a very significant undertaking to ensure that these relatively small states embark on an effective mechanism of functional cooperation that would strengthen their public health responses to outbreaks of diseases, emergencies and disasters and contribute to the health and development of the CARICOM region. It also offers prospects for closer collaboration in public health with the English, Dutch, and French overseas territories of the Caribbean as well as with the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and with partners in the hemisphere, Europe, and elsewhere.
