The Office of Caribbean Program Coordination

The Office of Caribbean Program Coordination (OCPC) is a PAHO sub-regional office established in the Caribbean in October 2006. The functions of the Office are focused on developing and implementing the Caribbean sub-regional technical cooperation program, responding mainly to the CARICOM Health Agenda – the Caribbean Cooperation in Health (CCH) Initiative. Accordingly, the OCPC will strengthen its collaboration with and support the CARICOM Secretariat in all matters related to health.

The OCPC also works closely with the PAHO Country Offices in the sub-region to complement the technical expertise required in each country.

To better streamline our technical cooperation in the Caribbean, the OCPC also coordinates the technical cooperation provided by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) within the framework of the CCH and regional and global mandates.

Given the role of the OCPC, Dr. Ernest Pate, the PAHO Caribbean Program Coordinator, acts as the main interlocutor on behalf of the Organization with sub-regional authorities and relevant entities on matters pertaining to the advancement of the sub-regional technical cooperation, in particular the implementation of CCH III.

The OCPC is based on the former Office of CPC that was established in Barbados in 1978 in recognition of the commonality of health problems in the sub-region. This similarity of health systems originated in the common historical development and the long standing tradition of collaboration in health among these countries.

In line with the Country Focus Policy and in an effort to improve the effectiveness of technical cooperation (TC) delivered by the Organization to Caribbean countries, the former Office of CPC was restructured in October 2006 to increase the effectiveness of multi-agency and multi-country coordination with Caribbean technical cooperation.

   OBJECTIVE, ROLES AND FUNCTIONS

The OCPC objective is:

• To enable the entire Organization to support the countries of the Caribbean sub-region in achieving the objectives of individual health agendas and to contribute to global and regional public health action.
• To draw on the experience of the sub-region and its member countries and institutions in building a body of public health knowledge that can benefit the countries, sub-region, region and the world

The main roles of OCPC are to:

• Serve as representative of PAHO/WHO to the major Caribbean sub-regional integration processes, institutions and entities with responsibility for liason and coordination with international and multilateral organization in the Caribbean.
• Support the major Caribbean sub-regional integration processes, including, but not limited to, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of Caribbean States (ACS),  the University of the West indies (UWI) and other academic institutions in the sub-Region, NGOs and other civil society associations so that resolutions they approve will give attention to health and be consistent with the policies and strategies approved by the Governing bodies of the Organization.
• Coordinate sub-regional activities in the Caribbean implemented by all PAHO/WHO organizational units, including the PAHO/WHO specialized Centres, CAREC and CFNI.
• Serve as the channel of communications between other PAHO/WHO organizational units and the Caribbean sub-regional integration processes, institutions and entities.

The main functions of OCPC include:

• To identify sub-regional priorities for PAHO/WHO Technical cooperation; and develop plans with clearly defined objectives;
• To cooperate with health and other Caribbean sub-regional authorities, entities and technical units in planning and programming to build inter-sectoral capacity, including capacity for epidemic alert and response and for emergency preparedness and disaster relief coordination.

OCPC focuses on the following areas of PAHO technical cooperation:

• Strategic approach to building human resource capacity in the sub-region
• Support mechanisms for strengthening health systems in the subregion
• Support sub-regional mechanisms for providing the evidence base for decision making and policy formulation
• Improving access and ensuring effective systems for the management and regulation of essential public health supplies, laboratory supplies and other commodities at the sub-regional level
• Advocacy and support for all programs and serving as interlocutor between programs and sub-regional entities like CARICOM
• Strengthening public health leadership

There is a long history of PAHO involvement in the Caribbean, since Zone Offices were created in 1951 before any of the territories had gained their independence. The Zone I office in Caracas, Venezuela had the responsibility for technical cooperation with the Caribbean Territories.

In the 1960s, as the countries became independent and formally joined PAHO as individual sovereign states, the role of the Zone Offices changed. In this post-independence era the first English-speaking Caribbean country to join PAHO was Jamaica on August 23, 1962. Other countries gained membership with the organization in the following order:

As the role of the Zone Offices changed Country Offices were created, each headed by a Representative of the Director. In 1975 the Zone Offices were designated Area Offices but Caracas still retained responsibility for much of the technical cooperation in the English-speaking Caribbean sub-region.

In 1978 the Office of Caribbean Program Coordination was established in Barbados in recognition of the commonality of health problems in the sub-region. This similarity of health systems originated in the common historical development and the long standing tradition of collaboration in health among these countries. Many of the resources were transferred from Caracas.

At this time, in addition to the Office of Caribbean Program Coordination, the English-speaking Caribbean is served by Country Offices headed by PAHO/WHO Representatives (PWRs) in:

• The Bahamas (responsible for Turks and Caicos Islands)
• Barbados (responsible for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries)
• Belize
• Jamaica (responsible for Bermuda and the Cayman Islands)
• Guyana
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago

The Dutch Islands are served through the Office in Venezuela and other French- and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries are served through Offices in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. PAHO has Centers in which scientific and technical resources for addressing one or more related areas are concentrated to support the needs of all the countries. Two of these PAHO Centers are located in the Caribbean:

• The Caribbean Epidemiology Center in Trinidad and Tobago, and
• The Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute in Jamaica

These centers are also supported by the CARICOM member countries. Together with the Office of CPC, the centers provide a unique network of sub-regional programs for the Caribbean.

All countries have access to all PAHO resources located at the Regional level, in other Country Offices and in other PAHO Centers through their designated PAHO/WHO Representative. Other PAHO Centers are: