Caribbean News
CARPHA and TEPHINET Sign MoU to Increase Technical Skills of Public Health Professionals in the Caribbean
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) renewing their commitment to increase the skills of public health professionals in applied epidemiological interventions, including outbreak detection, emergency response and surveillance analyses.
Field epidemiology is often described as “applied” or “intervention” epidemiology. It seeks to rapidly address priority public health issues in the community by using the appropriate resources and epidemiologic methods to investigate a problem and make recommendations for public health action, for immediate and longerterm control and prevention.
Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director, CARPHA reiterated the importance of Field Epidemiology Training Programmes (FETPs) to the Region, ”CARPHA’s novel FETP has the laboratory component added to it and is regarded as a ‘boots on the ground’ programme. It has
built much needed human resources capacity for health (HRH) in the small island developing states of the Caribbean. Participants’ work contributes to the strengthening of the national public health system as a whole, by providing evidence-based information for public health action”.
Dr Carl Reddy, Programme Director, TEPHINET expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the regional programme, “TEPHINET is proud to have the Caribbean Regional FELTP as a member of its global network, given the sterling job that it has done in building field epidemiology capacity in an underserved region susceptible to climate change and prone to public health emergencies such as natural disasters”.
Dr Laura Lee Boodram, Head, Caribbean Regional Field Epidemiology and Lab Training Programmes (CRFELTP), CARPHA said, “The tiered training programme is based on a model of building practical competencies, which enables trainees to apply classroom-based learning to solve real world situations”. CR-FELTP training content and learning projects address priority public health issues in the Caribbean, such as communicable and non-communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS; emerging health threats including Chikungunya and Ebola viruses; and laboratory surveillance.
Key objectives of the MOU are:
- Developing public health human resource capacity through Field Epidemiology Training (FETP)
- Implementing, following up and supporting epidemiological surveillance activities in communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, injuries and emergency preparedness and response
- Promoting networking opportunities to support further programme development and sustainability
- Collaborating holistically by coordinating efficiently on activities, identifying synergies, optimising resources and opportunities, and mitigating contradictory or duplicative efforts.
In January 2017 a technical partnership was formed between Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC)/TEPHINET and CARPHA in order to implement Frontline training as a pilot initiative, against the framework of the CR-FELTP. To date, 18 CARPHA Member States have benefitted from the Programme.
Background:
CARPHA is the sole regional public health agency for the Caribbean, legally established in 2011 by an Intergovernmental Agreement signed by the Caribbean Community member states. CARPHA is responsible for providing strategic direction and analysing, defining and responding to the public health priorities of the Caribbean in order to prevent diseases, promote and protect health and to respond to public health emergencies.
TEPHINET, formed in 1997, is a professional network of 83-member field epidemiology training programs (FETPs) working in more than 100 countries. With a mission to empower and mobilise a competent field epidemiology workforce to serve all people through standardised training, experiential learning, training program quality improvement, mentoring, and knowledge exchanges in order to connect epidemiologists better, faster, and with quality across the globe.
Photo Captions
Header: Dr Lisa Indar, CARPHA Ad Interim Executive Director signs the MOU between CARPHA and TEPHINET to strengthen public health and disease surveillance systems management in the Caribbean, while Dr Mark Sami, CARPHA Director Corporate Services looks on
Insert: Dr Carl Reddy, TEPHINET Programme Director, at his office in Atlanta, GA, after signing the MoU between TEPHINET and CARPHA
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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