Two senior healthcare professionals from Antigua and Barbuda have participated in a regional workshop aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and improving critical care capacity across the Eastern Caribbean.

Jacqueline JnoBaptiste, Director of Nursing at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (SLBMC), and Dr Gail-Ann Fortune, an intensivist at the hospital, attended the training session as part of the Pandemic Fund Project for Eastern Caribbean countries.

The workshop was supported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The sessions focused on identifying key gaps in regional critical care systems—many of which were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic—and designing targeted training plans to address them.

“This kind of collaboration strengthens our ability to respond in a crisis and, most importantly, improves outcomes for our patients, families, and communities,” officials said.

The initiative is part of a broader effort to improve health system resilience in Antigua and Barbuda and across the wider region.