Mitigating the Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Caribbean Community: The Essential Role of Multi-Sectoral Collaboration

While the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework (WHO-HSF) is not commonly used in the context of a specific disease, they have shown that it has great utility when multi-sectoral approaches are implemented within this framework. In the context of Caribbean SIDS which have limited...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of eastern Caribbean studies Vol. 46; no. 1/2; pp. 169 - 185
Main Authors Natalie, S Greaves, Harewood, Heather, Murphy, Madhuvanti M, Cunningham-Myrie, Colette A, Howitt, Christina, Hambleton, Ian R, Jeyaseelan, Selvi, Quimby, Kim R, Sobers, Natasha, Landis, R Clive
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cave Hill Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies 01.06.2021
Subjects
Communication
COVID-19
Disasters
Health care
Pandemics
Public health
Resilience
Success
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Summary:While the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework (WHO-HSF) is not commonly used in the context of a specific disease, they have shown that it has great utility when multi-sectoral approaches are implemented within this framework. In the context of Caribbean SIDS which have limited capacities to respond to major disasters such as pandemics, aligning their multi-sectoral response with the six (6) pillars of the WHO-HSF may have enabled the effective multi-country response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of identifying potential institutions to represent blocks within the framework, along with identifying any gaps that may need the assistance of agencies that are not traditionally involved in the response cannot be understated. Being open to an all of society approach, which hinges on sound organization from a governing body and open and consistent communication among agencies, is seen as key to success. The framework is posited as a model for resource limited multi-country unions to increase resilience and capacity to respond quickly to COVID-19, or similar public health emergencies in the future.
ISSN:1028-8813