Saint Lucia is strengthening its ability to detect and respond to public health threats with a new regional digital surveillance system.
A team from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) recently visited Saint Lucia to provide technical support as the country works to put the Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance System (RIEWSS) into operation.
RIEWSS brings together public health information from different surveillance systems on a single dashboard, giving health officials a clearer view of potential threats.
CARPHA Technical Advisor for the Pandemic Fund Project, Dr Brian Armour, said the system would allow senior health officials to see multiple events at once and make more informed decisions.
“Senior Heads of Departments, national public health leaders, they can see multiple events occurring at the same time, which mimics real life. Therefore, the decisions that can be made to protect the health of Saint Lucia can be made on a more holistic and integrated information platform,” he said.
The technical mission also brought together public health professionals, private health providers, vector control officers and representatives of public and private laboratories for orientation and training on the system.
Dr Armour said CARPHA wants authorised users designated by the Ministry of Health to have access to the system.
“Once they log in, they can view the relevant data that allows information to be converted as surveillance information for action,” he said.
Medical Surveillance Officer Dr Dana DaCosta Gomez described RIEWSS as an important addition to Saint Lucia’s health surveillance architecture.
“This integrated approach gives new meaning to surveillance as we will no longer operate in silos, allowing us to connect these signals, recognise patterns earlier and support a faster and more coordinated response,” she said.
“For Saint Lucia, this is particularly important as we strengthen our capacity to respond to a broad range of threats. The implementation of RIEWSS, therefore, represents much more than introducing another digital platform. It is about us strengthening our national health security and architecture.”
CARPHA Executive Director Dr Lisa Indar also welcomed the implementation of the system and its potential to support integrated surveillance, early detection and coordinated responses to public health threats.
Saint Lucia is the second OECS member state to implement RIEWSS.
