PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands – As part of its ongoing activities to prevent and control vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in the region, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) visited the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in December 2022.
The CARPHA team met with government officials and vector control officers to assess achievements while examining opportunities for capacity building. Data was collected over the three-day visit through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and site visits.
Outbreaks of vector-borne diseases like Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya can contribute to significant disease burden and financial loss. As such, comprehensive, sustainable and cost-effective prevention efforts are of utmost importance. Integrated Vector Management (IVM) is a rational decision-making process, for managing vector populations, that prevents and reduces the transmission of diseases. Consequently, monitoring and evaluation activities of IVM approaches, help to ensure that resources are strategically utilised for maximum impact.
CARPHA has had a longstanding relationship with TCI. Since 2016, TCI has been supported with entomology equipment, vector control needs assessments, as well as capacity building in vector surveillance, IVM and Insecticide Resistance Testing (IRT). The CARPHA team for this visit was comprised of Dr Horace Cox, head of vector-borne diseases and Maria Garcia-Joseph, monitoring and evaluation officer.
Dr Cox assured the TCI team that, “we remain steadfast in our support to TCI with interventions that are tailored to the local context and informed by strong community engagement.”
CARPHA is in turn grateful for the support offered to the delegation during this visit and looks towards building on the fruitful collaboration. The Agency is committed to supporting Member States in their vector control efforts for a safer, healthier Caribbean.
This monitoring and evaluation visit was funded by the European Union, under the Programme of Support for Health System Strengthening for Prevention and Control of Outbreaks of Zika and other Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the Caribbean.