GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (CMC) -The Deputy Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretary-General, Dr Armstrong Alexis, is leading a regional delegation to next week’s 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

A statement from the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat Friday said that as the region prepares for the impact of shifting global policies on healthcare systems in the Caribbean, including the reduction in funding for critical programmes such as HIV and AIDS, there are several critical global health issues for member states’ attention on the agenda from 19-27 May 2025.

It said these are the final draft of the pandemic agreement, human resources for health, combating antimicrobial resistance, addressing climate change impacts, and tackling non-communicable diseases.

Ahead of the meeting, Alexis said that protecting the health of Caricom citizens and advocating for solutions for health sector challenges experienced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will be a high priority for discussion.

“This year’s World Health Assembly is going to be very important, largely because there are changes taking place in the International Community, particularly within the multilateral system of global governance.

“Health governance is a critical part of it…with changes taking place, the presence of the Caribbean to ensure that the concerns of Small Island Developing States within the global architecture of healthcare and public health, is not lost when conversations are taking place at the international level,” Alexis said.

He said that while it is always essential for the region to be represented at the WHA, it is crucial this time because of the global changes and the withdrawal of some of the Region’s traditional partners.

He said that representation at this level was essential to protect the health architecture of the World as global health policies shift.

“We have to ensure that the interest of the Caribbean is protected,” he added.

Caricom Secretariat Programme Manager for Health Sector Development, Tamara Bobb, who is also attending the meeting, said “in addition to the main agenda, a caucus of Caricom Ministers of Health and their heads of delegation will convene in the margins of the Assembly to deliberate on priority areas for the Caribbean Community and the 78th World Health Assembly agenda items of interest to Member States.

“The Secretariat remains fully committed to advancing these discussions and fostering regional solidarity in health diplomacy. We look forward to positive outcomes that will benefit our Community and strengthen our collective resilience,” she added.