Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 31 July 2026 (PAHO) – Trinidad and Tobago has become the first country in the Caribbean to begin developing a national roadmap to accelerate the elimination of communicable diseases, supporting the country's efforts to strengthen health systems, protect public health, and advance toward the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions.
Developed with technical support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the roadmap brings together government leaders, health professionals, technical experts and development partners around a shared strategy to sustain past achievements while accelerating progress against diseases that continue to affect the population, including HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, leprosy and cervical cancer.
“The development of this national road map provides us with an opportunity to critically examine where we are, identify gaps, strengthen existing systems and determine the actions required to accelerate progress. This process will allow us to better understand our current capacities address bottlenecks and define strategic priorities that align with international best practices while responding to the unique needs of Trinidad and Tobago,” said Dr. Lackram Bodoe, Minister of Health, Trinidad and Tobago
The roadmap is part of PAHO's Disease Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030. Rather than addressing diseases individually, the Initiative promotes an integrated approach by strengthening health systems, improving health information and surveillance systems and laboratory capacity, expanding access to quality health services, addressing social and environmental determinants of health, and reinforcing governance and sustainable financing.
Trinidad and Tobago enters this new phase from a position of strength. The country has maintained its malaria-free status since 1965 and has also sustained the elimination of poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, congenital rubella syndrome, neonatal tetanus and lymphatic filariasis through strong immunization programs, robust surveillance systems and sustained public health leadership.
The new roadmap seeks to build on these achievements by strengthening synergies across disease programs, integrating surveillance and laboratory systems, improving case detection and management, and identifying shared solutions to accelerate progress toward multiple elimination targets simultaneously.
"Trinidad and Tobago is building on its public health achievements and choosing to move forward with an integrated vision for the future," said Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director of PAHO. "This roadmap reflects a national commitment to accelerate disease elimination through stronger health systems, coordinated action and sustained partnerships. PAHO is proud to support the country in translating that commitment into lasting public health impact."
The key components of the roadmap were developed during a two-day high-level workshop convened by the Ministry of Health with support from PAHO. The workshop brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Authorities, technical experts, academia, international partners, and other stakeholders to identify priority diseases for elimination, define timelines for achieving additional elimination milestones, analyze barriers slowing progress, and agree on practical interventions to overcome these challenges.
These actions will focus on four strategic areas: integrated service delivery, stronger surveillance and health information systems, addressing the social and environmental determinants of health, and improving governance and sustainable financing.
The initiative also comes at a critical time for the Region. Recent measles outbreaks have highlighted the need to sustain high vaccination coverage, strong laboratory networks and rapid response capacities to protect the Americas' hard-won disease elimination achievements.
"Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated leadership in communicable disease elimination for decades," said Dr. Gabriel Vivas Francesconi, PAHO/WHO Representative for Trinidad and Tobago. "By becoming the first Caribbean country to develop a national disease elimination roadmap, the country is once again leading by example. This roadmap provides a clear, integrated and evidence-based framework that will help translate today's commitments into measurable improvements in people's health."
PAHO will continue supporting the implementation of the roadmap through technical cooperation focused on strengthening surveillance and laboratory systems, enhancing clinical capacity, developing national guidelines and facilitating access to regional expertise and best practices.
