CARPHA And Martinique Cancer Registry Collaborate For Cancer Prevention And Control In The Caribbean

Release – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Martinique Cancer Registry signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to strengthen cancer surveillance and control in the Region. This collaboration is of critical importance as cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Caribbean and has a major impact on health and development.

Speaking at the Signing Ceremony on December 13, 2022, at the CARPHA Headquarters in Port of Spain, Trinidad, CARPHA Executive Director, Dr Joy St. John stated, “The scope of the collaborative work, under the Memorandum of Agreement, will be based on the joint goals of the Caribbean Cancer Registry Hub and the Martinique Cancer Registry to increase the quality, availability and use of cancer registry data in order to inform cancer control planning in the Caribbean Region”. The Caribbean Cancer Registry Hub is a CARPHA work programme that focuses on strengthening cancer surveillance.

Dr St. John pointed out that in 2007 at the landmark summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), CARICOM Heads of Government committed to establishing programmes necessary for the surveillance of NCDs, such as cancer. Dr St. John added that Caribbean countries also committed to reducing premature mortality by 25% by 2025, and she declared, “Today is another milestone in our efforts towards advancing this agenda”.

In delivering Remarks, Assistant Secretary General, CARICOM Secretariat, Ms Alison Drayton reiterated the importance of the collaboration between CARPHA and the Martinique Cancer Registry. She said, “Population-based cancer registries are critical to providing data for research and strategic planning. Cancer is still one of the leading causes of preventable death in the Caribbean, hence boosting our ability to accurately collate population-based quality data that is comparable, valid, complete, verified and timely is critical”.