Dr Karen Sealey

In her 26 years with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Dr Karen Sealey held several senior positions, at the subregional, regional and global levels. As the Caribbean Program Coordinator, she spearheaded the adoption of the Caribbean Health Promotion Charter; established the Awards for Excellence in Health Journalism; raised the profile of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and mental health in national health plans and published the inaugural edition of Health Conditions in the Caribbean.

Dr Sealey was seconded to UNAIDS for three years as the Director, Regional Support team for the Caribbean. In her final posting with PAHO/WHO, she served as PAHO/WHO’s first Special Adviser at the UN. Here, in prime place among her technical support to the Latin American and Caribbean Permanent Missions to the UN, Dr Sealey provided strategic leadership and coordination for CARICOM’s advocacy that led to the adoption of the 2011 UN Political Declaration on the prevention and control of NCDs.

Since her retirement, Dr Sealey has completed several national and international consultancies including preparing the first draft of the Trinidad and Tobago NCD Plan and served as the Executive Technical Adviser to the Minister of Health, Trinidad and Tobago, 2016-19.  

Karen Sealey is the Founder and current Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago NCD Alliance (TTNCDA) – an organisation of 13 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) which advocates for implementation of government’s commitment to action for the prevention and control of NCDs. Dr Karen Sealey is also a member of the Boards of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF) and the World Obesity Federation (WOF). Dr Sealey is the Past Chair of the Chest and Heart Association of Trinidad and Tobago (CHATT).