DuCaPHEN was established in June 2023 and is a collaboration between the six islands in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The conference brings together public health professionals from the Dutch Caribbean, as well as the Netherlands (representatives from the Ministry of Health), with the aim of strengthening public health through the exchange of knowledge and best practices. DuCaPHEN also supports Public Health departments in epidemiology and communicable disease control.
Attending this year’s conference in Curaçao was the Head of Public Health Menno Baker, Tedisha Gordon, Jenneke van Bussel and Michael Bautista. The event brought together Public Health professionals from the six Dutch Caribbean islands to strengthen regional collaboration, share knowledge, and enhance capacity in addressing key health priorities.
This year’s DUCaPHEN conference did not feature a single keynote speaker. Instead, experts from across the islands shared insights and best practices from their local projects and programs. Key themes included IHR, sexual health, healthy lifestyle promotion, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), death registration, and a fit-gap analysis of Public Health human resource management.
The Saba Public Health team contributed actively to the program. They presented on the island’s challenges with disease surveillance under International Health Regulations (IHR), highlighting Saba’s sexual health Sabaloving website and the Long Live Love program, and participated in a panel discussion on promoting healthy lifestyles. The team also took part in a panel and presentation focused on substance use and contributed to several working groups throughout the conference. “It was great to be able to work and share ideas together with colleagues from all Dutch Caribbean islands, to get inspired ourselves, and motivate others as well,” said Menno Baker.
Saba continues to contribute to broader regional initiatives, including active participation in an International Health Regulations (IHR) stakeholder group led by the RIVM. This group includes representatives from all six Dutch Caribbean islands and the Ministry of Health. The goal of the annual IHR stakeholder meeting is to monitor the implementation of IHR, assess public health preparedness and response, and support collaboration and knowledge exchange across the region.
