Duration: 2023 – ongoing
Funder/donor: ZonMw, ESHPM global health investment theme, NWO
Main partners: Dutch Caribbean Hospital Alliance (DCHA), Horacio Oduber Hospital (HOH) Aruba, Fundashon Mariadal (FM) Bonaire, Curaçao Medical Center (CMC), St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), St. Eustatius Healthcare Foundation (SEHCF), Saba cares
The six Dutch Caribbean islands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten, each face unique and pressing challenges in maintaining strong, resilient health systems. From navigating healthcare workforce shortages to preparing for the growing threat of tropical storms and climate-related disruptions, these communities are at the forefront of complex public health realities.
Yet despite their importance, health system research in the Caribbean, especially on these islands, remains limited. This creates a critical gap in understanding how to best support sustainable, context-specific healthcare that meets the needs of the people living there.
This project seeks to strengthen collaboration between local stakeholders and researchers, ensuring that future health system improvements are informed by local expertise, lived experiences, and scientific evidence. Ultimately, it’s about supporting the development of accessible, high-quality, and resilient healthcare, grounded in equity, partnership, and long-term impact.
“When you have a car accident in Rotterdam, you will be in the Erasmus MC in several minutes. On this small island, we don’t know whether we can stabilise someone enough to even consider flying to Colombia for eight hours. That is the reality...
This demands more resilient health systems and research is detrimental for developing them”
- Hospital Executive
Research approach/method
This project adheres to an engaged methodology that combines ethnographic fieldwork with policy analysis and comparative research to better understand the practices and dimensions of health systems resilience on small islands. Through its engaged approach, the project directly ties to contemporary and practical problems and commits to developing solutions for them.
Facilitated through the Caribbean Health Policy & Governance (CHPG) network
Contact
dr. Robert BorstAssistant professor