A new Chief Medical Officer has been named for Antigua and Barbuda. She is Dr.
Kamaria De Castro whose appointment took effect on November 2, 2023.
An Antiguan by birth, Dr. De Castro comes to the position with a wealth of
knowledge in the medical field. She graduated with top honours from the Faculty
of Medical Sciences Ernesto Che Guevara, Superior Institute of Medical Sciences,
Havana, Cuba in 2007 and subsequently completed the medical internship
programme at the May Pen Hospital, Jamaica.
She returned to Antigua and Barbuda where she worked as a house officer at the
Mount St John’s Medical Center (now the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center) from
2010-2011.
Dr. De Castro has a passion for primary health care services and in the interim,
worked as a Medical Officer within the private sector.
By 2014, Dr De Castro joined the Ministry of Health as a Medical Officer at the
inaugural evening clinic in the All Saints and Grays Farm Health Centres.
Dr. De Castro’s love for teaching led her to become an adjunct faculty member at
the American University of Antigua, in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine
Department.
She also served as Medical Director at the University Park Health Centre.
Dr. De Castro pursued a doctoral degree in Internal Medicine at the University of
the West Indies Mona campus, which culminated in December 2018. During her
training, she took part in abstract writing workshops and coauthored a publication,
the West Indian Medical Journal.
She spent an elective year at the University Hospital, Jamaica; Mount St John’s
Medical Center; and the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada, and upon
her return home, her enthusiasm about public health and healthcare services
offered under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health, caused her to renew her
commitment to enhancing the patient experience and quality of care offered to a
diverse population.
She worked as a consultant specialist in Internal Medicine in primary healthcare
services at the polyclinics across Antigua and Barbuda.
Dr. De Castro is Antigua and Barbuda’s focal point for the HEARTS Initiative in
the Americas of PAHO/WHO. This initiative involves hypertension control in the
primary care setting.
She has professional affiliations with several organizations including serving as
Vice President of the Sickle Cell Association of Antigua and Barbuda and the
Medical Association of Antigua and Barbuda. She is a member of the American
College of Physicians (ACP) as well as the Medical Protection Society.
