CDC in the Caribbean

Feb. 6, 2026

CDC established the Caribbean Regional Office in 2002 in Trinidad and Tobago. The office moved to Jamaica in 2018. CDC Caribbean works closely with Ministries of Health (MOHs) to build effective public health collaboration and partnerships to detect, prevent, and respond to global public health threats. CDC’s work aims to protect the health of Americans and support public health around the world.

Key accomplishments

CDC donated personal protective equipment for Jamaica's COVID-19 response.

Facilitated twelve clinical laboratories in the Caribbean, including two in Jamaica, in achieving international accreditation.
Developed a regional cruise ship surveillance system to track and alert countries of outbreaks.
Supported training for more than 380 public health professionals from 17 countries who graduated from the Caribbean Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP).
Supported local FETP-trained epidemiologists in multiple outbreak responses, including pertussis, Zika, chikungunya, dengue, rotavirus, sapovirus, norovirus, COVID-19, and natural disasters.
Implemented Jamaica’s first national household survey on violence against children in 2022.
Increased national, regional, and site staff capacity to monitor and evaluate HIV programs and make informed programmatic and policy decisions in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

HIV and TB

As a key implementer of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC plays an essential role in the fight against HIV and TB in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. With unmatched scientific and technical knowledge and long-standing relationships with MOHs, CDC is uniquely positioned to advance HIV, TB, and other global health security activities that keep Americans safe at home and abroad.

Through PEPFAR, CDC provides critical support to the Caribbean’s public health infrastructure, improving the country’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases and minimizing their risk from entering the U.S.

Read more about CDC's HIV and TB work in the Caribbean:

Global health security

People work around a table with laboratory equipment in front of them. — CDC works with local implementing partners in the Caribbean to conduct staff training.

CDC’s global health security work in the Caribbean focuses on strengthening countries’ public health systems across the following core areas: health information systems, laboratory systems, workforce development, and emergency response.

Health information systems

CDC and partners strengthen health information and surveillance systems by enhancing interoperability. This work involves linking separate systems and developing data repositories to have data in one place. CDC also helps standardize data collection tools and processes through digitization, visualization, and job aids. These efforts increase availability of high-quality data for program and policy decisions.

Laboratory systems

CDC strengthens laboratory operations through continuous quality improvement activities to allow more laboratories to be internationally accredited. Activities include:

Training and mentoring laboratory managers.
Improving the quality of laboratory services, like sample collection, testing, and transportation.
Achieving rapid results and timely reporting.

Workforce development

CDC helped establish the FETP in the Caribbean region in 2014. FETP increases the workforce's abilities to prevent, detect, and respond to existing and emerging health threats.

Emergency management

CDC’s long history of technical support in the Caribbean prepares the region with experts and resources to quickly respond to disease outbreaks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC helped strengthen several areas that were critical to emergency response, including diagnostic capacity, surveillance systems, workforce emergency response skills, clinical management, and border health.

Immunization

CDC's immunization activities primarily focus on COVID-19 vaccination. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC supported a mobile rapid response team that increased access to vaccination. CDC also supports wider immunization programs by increasing access to vaccines at rural health centers.