KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The University of the West Indies (UWI) has described the late former director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa Etienne, as a “daughter of this noble institution,” as it joined the region and the wider international community in offering condolences on her “sudden passing” last Friday.
The Dominican-born Dr. Etienne died at a hospital in the United States on Friday after collapsing at her home. She was 71 years old.
In a statement, UWI recalled that when she was elected as PAHO’s director in 2013, the region’s premier tertiary institution hailed it as “a proud moment for the Caribbean and our University.”
“Now, in this moment of deep sadness on her sudden passing, the University joins the international community in memorializing this Caribbean national who has been at the helm of the world’s oldest and foremost public health organization.”
It said that Dr. Etienne, a graduate of the UWI, Mona Campus, Etienne began her directorship of PAHO in February 2013, following in the “illustrious footsteps of Chancellor Emeritus of the UWI, Sir George Alleyne of Barbados.
“Later in 2016, the Council and Senate of the University were pleased to recommend the honorary degree of Doctor of Science to her,” it said, adding that last year, Dr. Etienne received the Chancellor’s Award that had been presented to PAHO.
The UWI said that during her stint at the PAHO and the World Health Organization (WHO), she led the efforts to renew primary health care and strengthen health systems based on primary health care, promoting integration and improved functioning of health systems.
Notably, at PAHO, it added that she adeptly steered the region’s responses to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and the Zika and chikungunya epidemics.
“Carissa Etienne was not simply a friend of this University. We claimed her as a daughter of this noble institution and took pride in every step of her distinguished career as a health professional.
“We, her family here at the UWI, mourn her unexpected transition, and this is her latest step, which takes her into the spiritual dimension. We offer our most sincere condolences on her passing,” said UWI Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.
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