GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, congratulates recipients of awards in Caribbean Excellence in Health and Action at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) 69th Health Research Conference (CHRC) that recently took place in Barbados.
The 69th CHRC was held under the theme, “Mental Health: The Hidden Pandemic,” and welcomed close to 400 delegates and featured 173 oral and poster presentations, and submissions from 16 countries. Participation was from all sectors beyond health, including tourism, finance, and disaster management.
At the Award Ceremony, CARPHA recognized two distinguished individuals for their decades-long contributions and have been considered health champions: Professor Jennifer Knight-Madden, for her impactful work on paediatric care and clinical research;
Professor Ian Hambleton, for his leadership in statistical epidemiology across the Caribbean.
This year’s research awardees included Dr. Melissa Francis, who was bestowed with the David Picou Young Researcher 2025, Tonya Campbell, who received the Donald Simeon 1st Place 2025 and Julia Manderville, who earned the Donald Simeon 2nd Place (Student Prize) 2025.
Victor Ihezue and Dr Shavon Alleyne were the first and second place winners, respectively, for the poster presentations.
The next CHRC will take place in Guyana in April 2026, under the theme “Innovations in Health”.
CARPHA also plans to publish a regional repository of research with policy relevance, with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) pledging support for a special issue in its Pan American Journal.
