The Ministry of Health announced a partnership today with a Caribbean health organisation to strengthen Bermuda’s health and safety measures.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency will offer the Serve Safe Handler’s Training through the Department of Health to teach users food safety.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said several tourism-related health programmes would also be offered to maintain safety during busy travel periods.

She added: “We are incredibly grateful to Carpha for bringing this training to Bermuda and to the environmental health team for its leadership in ensuring its success.

“Every food handler who completes this training is a vital link in our chain of protection.”

The announcement coincided with this afternoon’s graduation of the Bermuda cohort of the Caribbean regional field epidemiology and laboratory training programme.

Ms Wilson said the programme gave graduates skills in outbreak investigation and response, as well as disease surveillance.

The Serve Safe Food Handler’s Training, an internationally recognised certification, helps food industry professionals prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.

The health minister said that the training would build confidence in Bermuda’s health and safety efforts.

She added that other programmes offered by Carpha would strengthen cruise ship surveillance and information systems for tourism and health.

Ms Wilson said: “This week’s events underscore a core truth — strong partnerships lead to stronger health systems, and through these continued partnerships we are investing in the safety, health and resilience of our island community.”

Bermuda is one of Carpha’s 26 member states and receives technical support from the organisation.

Lisa Indar, the executive director of Carpha, said her organisation’s No 1 goal was to prevent the spread of diseases between countries.

Dr Indar said that Carpha learnt about the importance of partnerships shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the Caribbean region.

She explained that the region’s dependence on flight and travel could cause illnesses to spread quickly.

Dr Indar added: “Covid was a stark realisation that no man is an island and that we require a whole-of-society approach to be able to combat disease spreads and pandemics.”

Armell Thomas, the president of the Bermuda Public Services Union, pointed out that the Ministry of Health had been working alongside Carpha for 15 years.

He added that they had hoped to make this an annual partnership when they first carried out a similar programme in 2018, but were forced to pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Thomas said that the department hoped to hold a similar graduation in September.