Dear Editor,

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) began its regional response to hurricane-impacted Caribbean islands on July 1, 2024.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the Caribbean as a Category 4 storm on July 1, causing significant destruction and impacting on lives and livelihoods. Beryl affected Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica, resulting in fatalities, injuries, floods, and extensive damage to infrastructure, including health-care facilities. In some islands, like Carriacou and Petite Martinique of Grenada and Union Island of St Vincent and the Grenadines, more than 60 per cent of homes have been damaged or destroyed, leaving many without shelter, food, water, electricity.

Recovery, post-Beryl, necessitated a rapid, multi-disciplinary response of which public health is a vital component. The post-disaster health consequences of heavy rain, flooding, and large numbers of displaced people in crowded shelters increase the likelihood of infectious disease spread; food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases; mental health issues; and a strain on health systems.

In this regard, CARPHA, given its mandate for public health response to emergencies, is supporting the regional health response as part of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)-led Regional Response Mechanism as well as coordinating with member states and international organisations.

CARPHA’s comprehensive response includes rapid needs assessment, laboratory, surveillance and response, technical guidelines, prevention and control of infectious diseases, health and safety promotional materials, and shelter surveillance tools. The agency’s response also includes offering a Health Emergency Response Package to impacted islands.

CARPHA deployed technical staff to support the assessments of shelters, health facilities, and the public health situation in Grenada as part of the CDEMA-led Rapid Needs Assessment Team (RNAT) during July 6-12 and is aiming to deploy next week to provide support to the Ministry of Health, particularly in daily shelter surveillance and other health emergency and response needs. Tools for digital real-time shelter surveillance are being enhanced as well.

Funded through the Pandemic Fund grant, CARPHA is procuring a package of essential public health supplies to prevent/reduce diseases outbreaks for the impacted countries. This includes rapid tests to complement epidemiological surveillance; supplies to promote water, sanitation, hygiene, food safety, and vector control; and personal protective supplies that could be used at the collective level during health emergencies.

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) predicted an early start to the 2024 hurricane season with above-normal seasonal projections for the frequency and intensity of storms.

As such, CARPHA cautions affected member states and the broader region to concentrate on response and recovery efforts and to prepare for future events.

CARPHA remains committed to working with CDEMA and other regional and international agencies to ensure a well-coordinated, effective health and disaster response to the hurricane-affected member states.

Caribbean Public Health Agency