STVINCENT ANDTHE Grenadines (SVG) has become the first Member State in the Region to adopt the Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance System (RIEWSS), a milestone for health security across the OECS.The achievement follows an intensive technical mission conducted from June 22–30, 2026 by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), financed under the World Bank-supported OECS Regional Health Project, a CARPHA release states.
“For the OECS, the milestone is a tangible demonstration of what regional cooperation delivers: pooled investment in health security, shared digital infrastructure, and the creation of stronger national systems that protect the health sector, tourism sector, and ultimately the economies of small island states.” RIEWSS is CARPHA’s Regional Integrated Early Warning Surveillance and Response System, a Caribbean-tailored digital platform that integrates human, animal, environmental, and laboratory data to enhance early detection and response, so that public health threats can be identified and acted upon quickly. CARPHA says the timing of implementation ahead of the 2026 Vincy-Mas, and the Caribbean Premier League, is strategic as these mass gatherings bring visitors, revenue, and heightened public health risk in equal measure.
In the activated digital early warning system (RIEWSS), national officials were sensitised and trained on RIEWSS, a Caribbean-tailored suite of digital tools now configured at a national level with authorised login accounts to utilise available national digital data for enabling timely detection, reporting, and sharing of public health events.
Smarter surveillance at ports of entry. The enhanced Caribbean Vessel Surveillance System (CVSS 2.0) was launched and piloted, safeguarding the twin pillars of health and tourism on which OECS economies depend.
Modernised vector-borne disease surveillance. Field data capture entomological components of the integrated surveillance system were field tested for roll out, utilising CARPHA’s DHIS2 Entomology Module for electronic data collection that improves data quality and timeliness.
Readiness for mass gatherings. Public health personnel were trained on the Mass Gathering Surveillance System, expanded to support operations during SVG Carnival 2026 and future major events.
Multisectoral preparedness put to the test. An immersive, real-world Caribbean-tailored, Tingua simulation exercise, a CARPHA innovative product
