Caribbean News
JICA and CARPHA Signed Agreement for New Cooperation Against COVID-19
November 18, 2021 – Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement today to achieve Caribbean Regional Health Security, through the building of core capacity within CARPHA to prevent, detect, respond to and control infectious disease outbreaks.
Based on the request from CARPHA and the decision of the Government of Japan, JICA, an implementing
organisation of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), is collaborating on a new technical cooperation project including provision of testing kits and laboratory equipment worth 1 million US$. Today, both parties signed the record of discussions, the official agreement for the cooperation.
On the occasion of the signing ceremony, Mr. Hiroyasu Tonokawa, Chief Representative of JICA Saint Lucia Office mentioned 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 stated 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.
Dr. St. John, Executive Director of CARPHA expressed her gratitude to the Government and People of Japan for the
continued and considerate support to fight this COVID-19 pandemic. She stated “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 regionwide.” Dr. St. John also highlighted that CARPHA is currently executing two (2) projects with funding from the Government of Japan, while another two (2) were recently concluded, and another one (1) is expected to be signed in the near future.
In his closing remarks, His Excellency Mr. Tatsuo Hirayama, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago stated 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.”
Note: JICA is the primary Japanese governmental agency responsible for Japan’s bilateral ODA. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in 150 developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation. JICA has 96 overseas offices all over the world and about 2,000 permanent staff.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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