One health approach urged across Caribbean sectors

AGRICULTURE Minister Ravi Ratiram has called for deeper collaboration across the Caribbean’s health, agriculture, veterinary, and environmental sectors. He warned the region’s growing vulnerabilities demand a fully implemented One Health approach.

Speaking at the opening of the second One Health multidisciplinary workshop on November 24, at Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, Ratiram said the broad participation of experts and institutions underscored just how interconnected the world has become and how essential it is "we continue to move forward together.”

He highlighted ongoing efforts in line with the One Health agenda, including strengthening livestock and poultry surveillance, promoting biosecurity on farms, and upgrading food safety systems from production to retail.

“Food safety is not just a health issue. It is a national development issue,” Ratiram said. Improving standards, he added, is critical to reducing imports, expanding exports, and building consumer confidence in local products.

The minister warned threats to human health, agriculture, trade, and the environment are becoming more immediate and costly.

“The health of people cannot be separated from the health of animals and the health of the environment.”

He drew attention to the Caribbean’s marine ecosystems, which support the blue economy, coastal protection, and thousands of livelihoods. Pollution, climate-driven changes, and biological threats such as fish-borne illnesses, he warned, demand marine health be fully integrated into surveillance and response systems.

Ratiram said the work of One Health is ultimately about the human impact of decisions. He pointed to pressing challenges such as foodborne illness, zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and invasive species, which he said continue to strain households and economies across the region.

“These actions matter to parents who need to feel confident about the food they place in their baskets, poultry farmers who depend on surveillance to avoid losing entire flocks, fisherfolk who need clean water and safe seafood, and the children who deserve a healthy meal every single day.”

Highlighting the role of regional co-operation, Ratiram praised CARPHA’s (Caribbean Public Health Agency) Regional Integrated Early Warning and Surveillance System, which now includes a new One Health module.

"The platform allows countries to see the same indicators across the same dashboard, review the same alerts, and coordinate responses more quickly and effectively than ever before.”

The workshop, which ends today, aims to identify priority indicators, strengthen data-sharing agreements, and conduct rapid-response simulation exercises.

These activities, Ratiram said, “directly shape how health, agriculture, environmental, and veterinary systems will function in the face of the next foodborne outbreak or zoonotic threat.”

Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe also addressed representatives from 12 countries, 18 agencies, and 83 participants, emphasising the importance of integrated surveillance for foodborne and zoonotic diseases.

Bodoe said food-borne diseases remain a significant regional concern. He cited a June 2023 report estimating 140,000 people contract foodborne illnesses annually in the Caribbean. Risks, he said, rise sharply during large public events such as cricket matches, football games, and Carnival.

During these times he said the likelihood of exposure “increases to over one in 11 persons.” Integrating surveillance, inspection systems, and robust food safety programmes is therefore critical.

Zoonotic diseases, those transmissible between animals and humans, also remain a growing threat. Bodoe stressed the need to unite veterinary, environmental, and human health sectors under the One Health approach to prevent infections from animal reservoirs or contaminated products.

Vector-borne diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, further complicate the regional health landscape. In 2024, Bodoe said Trinidad and Tobago recorded over 2,000 confirmed dengue cases and 19 deaths.

Encouragingly, early 2025 data show reduced cases and no deaths to date, reflecting the effectiveness of timely surveillance and response measures.

The workshop builds on the inaugural 2024 session, which Bodoe said set the strategic direction for integrating One Health systems among member states.

This year’s event focuses on operationalising those strategies, ensuring Caribbean countries are better prepared to respond to emerging threats across human, animal, and environmental health.