PAHO launches seven new Caribbean climate and health country profiles

PAHO, WHO and UNFCCC, in collaboration with national governments, produced climate and health country profiles for Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Washington, DC, March 11, 2026 - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published new national climate and health country profiles for seven Caribbean countries: Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The profiles synthesize evidence on countries' climate hazards and related health risks. They monitor national progress in responding to climate-driven health threats and point to opportunities where mitigation efforts can deliver health gains. Each profile outlines priority areas for action and directs users to relevant supporting resources.

Among the main recommendations highlighted in these profiles is the need for countries to develop or accelerate the implementation of climate and health policies, as well as national climate adaptation plans and strategies. In addition, the profiles underscore the need for strengthening integrated risk surveillance and early warning systems, addressing barriers to accessing international climate finance to support health adaptation, reinforcing training and capacity-building opportunities in climate and health for health professionals and strengthening intersectoral collaboration.

SIDS, frontline of climate change

Despite producing very few greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, people living in small island developing states (SIDS), including these seven Caribbean countries, are on the front line of climate change impacts. Most SIDS also face a 'triple burden' of malnutrition, in which undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity coexist simultaneously. Climate change and its effects will exacerbate the incidence of these factors and their impact on health.

In fact, as these country profiles reveal, mortality rates from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have shown a general upward trend due to climate change, a pattern expected to continue in the coming decades. According to the reports in these profiles, between 2010 and 2021 the Caribbean experienced a steady increase in NCD mortality rates, rising from around 530 to just over 600 per 100,000 during that period.

Climate change will also negatively affect a wide range of areas, including freshwater availability, agricultural land, fisheries, and tourism, sectors that form the backbone of these countries' economies.

Rising temperatures, combined with more frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts, are increasing mortality rates and disease burden (particularly vector-borne diseases such as dengue), which in turn negatively affects productivity and will place growing pressure on health systems.

All these negative effects will have a particularly strong impact on groups and populations in situations of vulnerability, who are the least responsible for the causes of climate change.

This work was carried out by PAHO in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and national governments. Financial support was provided through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme Enhancing Climate Change Resilience of Health Systems in Seven CARICOM States'―Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize.

Read the country profiles

BELIZE

hAITI

sAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

SAINT LUCIA

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO