IDB supports digital infrastructure drive in Caribbean to streamline healthcare services

The ONE Caribbean project overseen by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Group) is said to be revolutionizing how countries in the Caribbean can build reliable infrastructure and systems that enable access to digital health services.

The project was introduced in response to the litany of challenges which countries in the Caribbean face, according to an IDB Group blog article.

Many of the countries in that part of the world face several problems including difficult access to public services for citizens living in remote and hard-to-reach communities.

The blog highlights that in order to enable these countries to grapple with the challenges, the ONE Caribbean initiative has introduced a framework to facilitate regional collaboration on building the necessary digital public infrastructure (DPI) to make things happen differently.

“By providing a framework for cooperation, ONE Caribbean enables countries to build shared foundations for secure data exchange, not only for emergencies, but also for everyday use cases such as vaccination records, cross-border care, and patient summaries,” the development finance institution writes in the blog.

It adds that the objective of the framework is to allow for the establishment of effective systems that make it possible for citizens in the region to easily access digital health services in whichever country they find themselves.

The ONE Caribbean initiative was established on the understanding that aspects like digital health cannot be fully implemented with technology alone, the blog notes. They require having the right foundational infrastructure, as well as “strong governance, clear regulatory frameworks, aligned standards, and sustained institutional capacity.”

In addition to having the right technology and frameworks, the IDB Group opines that digital health systems must also be integrated with countries’ wider digital ecosystems because “elements such as digital identity, cybersecurity, and data governance are essential to enabling secure and trusted data exchange.”

The bank cites the example of Jamaica’s health information system strategy that inspired a regional effort in 2024 to drive a vision dubbed the Pan-American Highway for Digital Health (PH4H), the idea being to create a common digital health ecosystem for Latin American and Caribbean nations.

In furtherance of the regional initiative, ONE Caribbean, early this year, organized what it called ONE Caribbean Connect which brought together countries of the region to explore ways of integrating their fragmented health infrastructure with the goal of establishing one ecosystem that facilitates access to health services across borders.

During the event which took place in Port of Spain, discussions emphasized the need for synergized action at all levels. The exchanges culminated in the adoption of a Digital Health Roadmap that involves seven countries of the region.

As part of the roadmap implementation, the countries have agreed to share knowledge and experiences using the ONE Caribbean platform, and also to work toward “sustained commitment, collaboration, and investment,” in order to obtain the desired results.

The IDB Group is a well-known player in supporting digital infrastructure projects across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Peru, for instance, is implementing civil registration and identity services projects thanks to an $80 million loan from the bank.

It is also among several organizations and development institutions that pledged in 2023 to mobilize $400 million for DPI in 100 countries by 2030.

Article Topics

Caribbean  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  healthcare  |  Latin America  |  patient identification