PAHO Names Dr Eldonna Boisson for Caribbean Post
Dr Eldonna Boisson takes over as PAHO/WHO representative for Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands from October 29, 2026.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Reggae
The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization has appointed Dr Eldonna Boisson as its representative for Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, effective October 29, 2026. She ends her role as representative for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, which she has held since January 2021.
Why it matters
The appointment places a senior epidemiologist in charge of PAHO/WHO technical cooperation across three territories that rely on regional health partnerships. Her new role centres on liaising with government ministries, United Nations bodies and other partners.
Dr Boisson has over 32 years of international public health experience within PAHO/WHO, and served as representative for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands from January 2021 to October 2026. The announcement does not address who will fill the vacated Bahamas and Turks and Caicos post.
The players
Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)
PAHO/WHO is the regional office of the World Health Organization for the Americas and the oldest international public health agency in the world.
Dr Eldonna Boisson
Dr Boisson is an epidemiologist with more than three decades of experience in international public health.
The details
Dr Boisson is an epidemiologist with a PhD and MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Calgary. In 2020 she contributed to PAHO/WHO's COVID-19 Regional Incident Management System Team, and earlier worked as a clinical scientist at the UK Public Health Laboratory Service's Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.
Timeline
January 2021: Dr Boisson begins as PAHO/WHO representative for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
2020: Dr Boisson contributes to PAHO/WHO's COVID-19 incident management team.
October 2026: Her Bahamas and Turks and Caicos role ends.
October 29, 2026: Her appointment for Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands takes effect.
Season Trajectory
Dr Boisson's 2020 contribution to PAHO/WHO's COVID-19 Regional Incident Management System Team connects her current appointment to the organisation's crisis-response track record. Her move from The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos to Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands extends that regional experience to new territories.
Dr Boisson's appointment changes who residents of Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands will deal with on PAHO/WHO technical cooperation from October 29, 2026. Residents of The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands will see a change in their regional PAHO/WHO representative as well.
The takeaway
Regional health cooperation depends on continuity in leadership, and this appointment shows PAHO/WHO shifting experienced epidemiologists between Caribbean and Atlantic posts. Readers following public health in the region should watch for the successor announced for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by Jamaica Gleaner.
