Caribbean News
CARPHA Meets with Regional Stakeholders to Discuss Post Market Surveillance for Medicines
#Kingston, March 15, 2019 – Jamaica – It is the right of all Caribbean people to have access to healthcare services, including essential quality medicines and pharmaceutical products they can trust. Poor quality and falsified medicines if left unchecked, can reverse progress the Region has made in its fight against diseases.
“We live in a world where medicines are being developed and consumed at an increasingly higher rate; and there are increased findings of substandard and falsified medicines reported to global monitoring systems. We cannot have that proliferated in the Caribbean. Manufacturers are seizing the opportunity to import and flood markets in countries where medicines are of short supply or where the regulatory systems for medicines are weak. Thanks to CARPHA Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department (MQCSD) and its efforts to implement a “proactive, risk-based, planned sampling programme” for the post market surveillance of medicines, we are in a position to guard against this,” stated Dr the Honourable Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health, Jamaica.
Minister Tufton was speaking at the opening of the CARPHA Meeting on Post Market Surveillance and the Caribbean Pharmaceutical Policy which is taking place from 12 – 13 March at the conference room of the MQCSD in Kingston, Jamaica.
He went on to say “The importance of the CARPHA MQCSD, as the only accredited medicines quality control laboratory in the English-speaking Caribbean, cannot be over stated. It is to the MQCSD that we now look to implement a Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) strategy, that is, among other things, to provide test results that confirm the good quality of medicines or otherwise identify problems with them; and provide test results that give the opportunity for national medicines regulatory authorities to evaluate and make decisions on the actual quality of products used in country.”
In closing, Minister Tufton stated “The systematic and emergency monitoring of medicines by CARPHA MQCSD through its PMS strategy, has the support of the Ministry of Health – recognising that its success is dependent on nurtured collaboration among Member States and key stakeholders, and on it being adequately resourced.” Other speakers at the opening ceremony were Dr Virginia Asin-Oostburg, Director, Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, CARPHA; Mrs. Jesse Schutt-Aine, Sub-regional Program Coordinator, Caribbean, PAHO/ WHO; and Dr Rudolph Cummings, Programme Manager, Health Sector Development, CARICOM Secretariat.
In her welcome and opening remarks, Dr Virginia Asin-Oostburg, Director, Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control stated “This is the first meeting CARPHA is hosting with key regional partners of the Post Market Surveillance (PMS) programme that is organised by CARPHA’s Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department. We see this as an important milestone for CARPHA and its Member States. Since Jamaica is host country to CARPHA MQCSD, it is more than fitting to experience this milestone with our host. We consider this meeting, a milestone in repositioning what used to be the Drug Testing Laboratory and rebranding the laboratory as the Medicine Quality Control and Surveillance Department that also offers a surveillance programme to our Member States to actively monitor the safety of registered drugs. PMS is a programme developed by MQCSD that will further shape and form in collaboration with our partners and colleagues from Member States.”
The importance of the CARPHA MQCSD as the only ISO/ IEC 17025 accredited medicines quality control laboratory in the English-speaking Caribbean, cannot be over-emphasized. The department has embarked on a post market surveillance programme for medicines, which seeks to monitor the quality of selected medicines circulating in the pharmaceutical markets of participating CARPHA Member States. This will ensure that Member States have access to information which can be utilized to develop evidence-based approaches such as issuing of alerts, implementing risk reduction strategies and overall management of national public health risks.
Given the limited resources and other challenges facing small island developing states such as CARICOM countries, the responsibilities related to regulatory systems are difficult to carry out single-handedly or individually. In collaboration with other partners such as PAHO/WHO, CARPHA MQCSD will function as a critical part of a robust mechanism for regulating medicines in CARICOM.
Mrs. Jesse Schutt-Aine, Sub-regional Program Coordinator, Caribbean, PAHO/ WHO stated “PAHO is happy to be working with CARICOM and CARPHA and Member States on this initiative. Strong regulatory systems are the foundation for strong health systems. A strong health system is what’s needed for universal health, and universal health is essential for the attainment of the sustainable development goals. PAHO has been working on these issues for many years supporting the development of the Caribbean Pharmaceutical Policy, as well as a roadmap for a regional regulatory platform. More recently PAHO has been working closely with CARICOM and CARPHA and Member States to advance the Caribbean Regulatory Systems – the regional regulatory system that is managed by CARPHA. Ms. Schutt-Aine acknowledged “CARPHA as a regional public health platform that is transforming its drug testing laboratory into something that can enhance post market surveillance in the Region through risk based sampling of products in Caribbean markets.”
The introduction of the new surveillance programme will allow CARPHA MQCSD laboratory to monitor medicines such as those used for the control of non-communicable diseases and other medicines. This programme is aligned with CARICOM’s strategy of advancing initiatives for health and wellness by ensuring access to safe, reliable medicines thereby improving the quality of life of the Region. The Caribbean region will have access to information to undertake evidence-based approaches to enable warning, risk reduction and management of national public health risks.
Speaking at the opening, Dr Rudolph Cummings, Programme Manager, Health Sector Development, CARICOM Secretariat said, “The Medicines Quality Control and Surveillance Department needs to be complemented for the tremendous work that it has done to prepare for this meeting and in positioning itself to support the efforts require for a successful regional pharmacovigilance program.”
Access to healthcare and essential quality medicines and pharmaceutical products is critical for the Caribbean population’s well-being and optimal health. Through dossier evaluation and pre-marketing quality control of generic medicines for the purpose of registration, some countries are ensuring that quality medicines are on the market.
At the closing of the opening ceremony, Ms. Sonia Thomas-Gordon, Acting Head/Senior Chemist, CARPHA MQCSD, in her vote of thanks, acknowledged the commitment and endorsement by partners and participants to the MQCSD post surveillance programme. She said “Post market is a small component of pharmacovigilance, and the laboratory component is important. What we are trying to do is be proactive and monitor those medicines that are on the market. Most Member States do not have capacity to monitor and we are hoping to bridge the gap to have one central area, where medicines come to us for testing and we issue the results.”
The 2-day meeting will seek to sensitize CARICOM’s Technical Advisory Committee on Pharmaceutical Policy (TECHPHARM) and Caribbean Regulatory Systems (CRS) focal points on MQCSD’s post market surveillance program with a view to strengthen regional integration and partnerships for sustainable development of the programme. The meeting will also aim to reaffirm the role of TECHPHARM in regional PMS and as a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to MQCSD. Also, down for discussion are the acknowledgement and endorsement of MQCSD’s PMS Strategy and Field Guide.
More information about the CARPHA MQCSD can found http://carpha.org/MQCSD.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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