CARPHA Strikes at Mosquitoes, calls for Regional Action

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has issued an invitation to all sectors to commemorate the 2025 iteration of Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week (CMAW), observed from May 12-16, 2025 under the theme “Stop Disease Transmission, Start Source Reduction.”

The campaign once again shines a spotlight on the serious and growing threat of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) in the region, including Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, and Malaria, a CARPHA release states.

This year’s observance comes at a critical time. In the past year alone, 13 CARPHA Member States reported over 2,569 suspected and 1,295 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases—a 16% increase over the previous year.

Additionally, the first quarter of 2025 has already seen new cases of both dengue and malaria.

“The Caribbean cannot address this threat in isolation,” said Dr Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA. “We need the collective effort of ministries, schools, churches, tourism stakeholders, NGOs, the media, and most importantly, our people.”

CARPHA is urging citizens and institutions across the region to take simple but effective steps to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, which contribute to the spread of diseases like dengue. These include emptying stagnant water from containers such as tyres and plant pots, securely covering water storage drums, cleaning drains and gutters to prevent blockages, and disposing of waste items that can collect rainwater. Regularly maintaining these areas can significantly reduce mosquito populations and protect communities from mosquito-borne illnesses.

Acting Director, Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at CARPHA, Dr Horace Cox added: “Mosquitoes may be small, but the diseases they spread are not. Source reduction is one of the more powerful weapons we have. This is everyone’s fight.”

CARPHA said it continues to support its Member States with training, communication tools, and technical guidance as part of a broader vector control strategy under the European Union-funded Zika Project. This year, a comprehensive toolkit was developed to assist Member States in their national public education efforts around Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week commemoration.

Housed on CARPHA’s website, the CMAW toolkit features a wide range of digital assets available in English, French, and Haitian Creole. Materials include public education resources such as posters, bookmarks, a campaign jingle, as well as youth-focused items like rulers and social media reels.

The campaign also features a region-wide Instagram Reel Competition designed to encourage creative approaches to promoting source reduction, along with ready-to-air radio messages to amplify the campaign’s reach.
CARPHA said the campaign builds on the growing success of CMAW since its inception in 2016, approved at the 17th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in response to the Zika virus threat. Today, Caribbean Mosquito
Awareness Week continues to evolve as a major driving force in the Caribbean’s health communication and disease prevention strategies.

All stakeholders are encouraged to visit the CMAW webpage at: https://caribbeanmosquitoweek.carpha.org to download materials and join in the collective push for source reduction. Information on the Instagram Reel Competition can also be found via the webpage.