Above: Leslie Ramsammy (UN Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Guyanese Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy has been appointed the first chairman of the Executive Board of the new Caribbean Public Health Agency.

The 14-member board was installed at the agency’s first meeting Friday in Washington, DC.

CARICOM Chairman Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, challenged the board to chart a course for the agency’s sustainability.

“We therefore expect the Executive Board to be the vanguard in the accelerated approach for the region’s public health agenda,” Douglas said.

Part of the region’s priorities should include mitigating natural disasters, he said.

The board’s membership includes nine members from CARICOM members.