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Caribbean health authorities have been warned that unless the region urgently overhauls how health data is collected and applied, efforts to prevent and control outbreaks of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika will be undermined, a top public health expert said Tuesday.

Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Dr Horace Cox, spoke to Barbados TODAY on the sidelines of a regional workshop being hosted at Blue Horizon Hotel. The training session, attended by health professionals from across the region, is focused on boosting the Caribbean’s collective capacity to predict, detect and respond to vector-borne diseases (VBDs).

He noted that although much has been done in recent years to improve data use in drafting public health policies, strengthening data quality and improving how it is applied in decision-making should be seen as the critical point in the region’s preparedness strategy.

Dr Cox said: “We are coming up with innovative tools at the Caribbean Public Health Agency in conversation with key stakeholders such as those in Barbados, that these tools can help to give us an early signal that something is about to happen. Once that’s the case, we trust that this can advance our preparedness not only as a nation in Barbados but also as a region and, by extension, our level of resilience to the public health threats that we continue to face.” 

Much of the workshop, he noted, is about ensuring participants understand both the technical and practical value of high-quality information in safeguarding public health.

“Here we’re teaching the different participants about the importance of improving data quality, because we can come up with all of these fancy tools, but it’s what’s fed into them [that’s] important,” he said.

“Then also we’re building capacity on the use of risk assessment tools because we want them to be able to appreciate the level of risk and also to understand how the public health actions will be commensurate with that level of risk that’s assessed.”

According to Dr Cox, CARPHA and its partners are working on new models that will give health authorities more accurate early warning systems. However, these can only be successful if regional countries have the right infrastructure and ensure that the data being reported is both consistent and reliable.

“There’s been a lot of advancement in terms of the Caribbean getting better quality data using standardised tools that would harmonise the data sets across the board and ensure that they can speak to one another at the time when we’re attempting to do different analyses,” he said.

“Even though we’ve had these successes, it’s important for us to think about the next step. How could we ensure that these changes are institutionalised and that they become part of the culture?”

He stressed that the ultimate goal is not simply about producing large datasets or building new databases, but about ensuring that the data is properly analysed and used to guide real-world public health decisions.

“It’s not just about collecting data and having the best data package available to us, but it’s how to extract the information from it and to use it to inform public health action, and that’s the essence of it,” Dr Cox explained. “We want it to be a process that is smooth, that not only reflects very robust data systems, but also the translation of that evidence and the use of the evidence to inform public health action.”

At the most practical level, he added, the importance of good data must resonate beyond health professionals and policymakers, reaching right down to communities and families.

“When the data is collected, we want to ensure that you, at the very level of the community, understand how you’re using that data to ensure that you do the necessary preventive measures to protect not only you but your family and by extension the broader community,” he said. (SB)

The post Caribbean urged to strengthen health data to combat rise in vector-borne disease appeared first on Barbados Today.

On 26 August 2025, the General Hospital received donations valued at EC$308,000 from the GHTA through its Tourism Enhancement Fund

View the full post GHTA donates over EC$300,000 in supplies to General Hospital on NOW Grenada.

New Delhi: Clarifying that eligibility certificates are mandatory for foreign medical graduates to appear in the screening test, i.e., the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE), the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a deadline for candidates to apply for their eligibility certificates.

Issuing a notice in this regard on 26.08.2025, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of NMC has informed that the online submission of application will start from 1st September 2025 and the last date for application is 30th September, 2025.

"The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) Screening Test, may be scheduled in the coming months, by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences. Candidates must possess the eligibility certificate issued by the National Medical Commission to apply for the Screening Test, as per the specified requirements," NMC mentioned in the notice.

It added that candidates who have not yet obtained an Eligibility Certificate need to apply for it through NMC's website as per the schedule below:

Online Portal Process

Timelines

Online Submission of Application

1st September, 2025 (10:00 AM onwards)

Last Date for Submission of Application

30th September, 2025 (Till 06:00 PM)

The Commission further informed that the applicants can make enquiries about status of the Eligibility application,"...however while making such enquiries; all the candidate are requested to invariably provide their File Tracking Number, which was generated while submitting the application to NMC for issuance of Eligibility Certificate. It may please be noted that no response would be sent to the candidate in the absence of File Tracking Number. An advisory is also attached for guidance of the applicants," added the Commission.

"Accordingly, all candidates are requested to submit application after making due diligence and checking the requisite entries scrupulously before submitting the application. The candidates who have already submitted application for issuance of the Eligibility Certificate to NMC in the past, they need not apply again," clarified the Commission.

Along with the notice, the Ethics Board of NMC also issued an advisory and reiterated that candidates will not be allowed to appear in the screening test without the Eligibility Certificates issued by the Commission.

NMC EMRB mentioned observing on previous occasions that various mistakes are made by the candidates while applying for the Eligibility Certificate (EC). Taking note of that, the Commission suggested the following measures for the candidates to avoid mistakes.

(i) The applications should preferably be filled by the candidate himself and should ideally avoid proxy for making applications for EC;

(ii) The candidates are also advised to keep their documents handy before filling application for EC; it would be ideal if the entries to be made are verified vis-a-vis entries in the original documents;

(iii) The candidates should provide their active mobile numbers so that alerts/deficiencies can reach them directly for rectification to obviate any delay in rectification. It may also be ensured that once the deficiency is conveyed only the deficiency should be rectified by the respective candidate as expeditiously as possible to avoid last minute rush; and

(iv) Candidates shall scrupulously check entries and ensure conformity with the details in the original documents to ensure quick processing/approval of applications if otherwise eligible.

"The above-mentioned steps are only suggestive and not exhaustive. Candidates are requested to exercise due diligence before submitting applications for Eligibility Certificates and ensure the mobile numbers indicated remain active," clarified the Commission.

To view the notice, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-online-application-for-the-eligibility-certificate-2025-new-298942.pdf

Also Read: NMC to Open Portal for FMGE Eligibility Certificates applications, Check complete Details

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Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic has relaunched its “Let’s Beat Dengue” campaign, following a significant decline in reported cases this year. So far, 171 infections have been confirmed with no deaths, compared to 1,110 cases and 12 fatalities during the same period in 2024—an 85% reduction. By contrast, in 2023 the country faced one of its worst outbreaks, recording over 28,000 cases and more than 60 deaths.

Health Minister Víctor Atallah attributed the progress to prevention efforts, community engagement, and coordinated work with Provincial Health Directorates. He stressed that the new campaign, under the slogan “Eliminate, clean, and cover up,” will place stronger emphasis on public education and mosquito breeding site elimination to sustain the gains achieved.

The initiative includes educational workshops, fumigation campaigns, junk removal, larvicide distribution, and the “Anti-Dengue Family” program with the Ministry of Education and PAHO, training students and teachers as community advocates.

Port-au-Prince, (EFE).- Pregnant women in Haiti are giving birth in unsanitary camps without medical care, often struggling to feed themselves and their newborns. Many pregnancies are the result of gang rapes, as armed groups now control most of Port-au-Prince. A UN report documented at least 628 cases of sexual violence between April and June, including sexual slavery, trafficking, and child exploitation.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warns that Haiti’s health system is on the brink of collapse, after years of conflict, looting, and financial breakdown. With 1.3 million people displaced and over 5.7 million suffering from acute hunger, pregnant women and new mothers remain among the most vulnerable, facing malnutrition and life-threatening conditions without adequate aid.

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