Draft Report Strategic Plan On Health And Related Social Services In The CARICOM (2008)

The Caribbean Community, CARICOM, consists of 15 full member countries with a total population of about 15 million people. There are 5 associate member states with a total population of about 164,000. These populations are of different sizes and are diverse in people, language, skills and levels of development - economic and social . In general, the Caribbean is disadvantaged with respect to their small size and small economies that limit resources and investments. Also the Caribbean frequently suffers from natural hazards, such as flooding and hurricanes that not only places a strain on the economies and health sector but also slows down development and causes setbacks. As the Caribbean economies become increasingly global and competitive, both inter-regional and intra-regional, and as the implementation of the provision of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) around free movement of persons continues, the main advantage will be the ability to continue to leverage cooperation in health as well as other social and economic developmental areas. The CSME brings new challenges but also enables the region to become more competitive in global developments.