Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2021

Dr St John rose in the ranks of Public Health in Barbados from 1994 to become the first Barbadian Chief Medical Officer of Barbados in 2005. Dr St John held the position of International Health Regulations Focal Point, Liaison Officer for IAEA for Barbados and sat on the QEH Board, the NCD Commission and the Board of the Barbados Water Authority, among many.

Dr St John also represented Barbados on the Executive Board of WHO and then became the first Caribbean person to Chair the Executive Board from 2012 to 2013.

Dr St John had two stints with other organizations during the twelve years she was the CMO. She was a Senior Advisor with WHO, supporting the co-facilitators of the UNGA Review of the High-Level Summit on NCDs in 2014, then she was the Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at CARPHA from October 2015 to August 2016 until she left finally left the post of CMO in 2017 when she became the Assistant Director General at the WHO HQ in Switzerland. There she held the Portfolio of Climate and Other Determinants of Health and successfully completed the first phase of the Climate Change and Health SIDS Initiative.

In July 2019 Dr St John became the Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency. There she has steered CARPHA through a CARICOM Evaluation, selected new Directors, improved the governance and accountability frameworks of CARPHA, as well as focused on strengthening CARPHA’s resource mobilization and partnership portfolios.

CARPHA has led the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Dr St John’s leadership has seen her have over 100 speaking engagements as she engages with multiple sectors, and the Health leaders and Heads of Government in CARICOM.