WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao has been assigned a leading role within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in coordinating healthcare emergency preparedness, following agreements reached during the Sixth Administrative Four-Country Public Health Consultation held in Sint Maarten on November 20, 2025 .
Under the new structure, Curaçao will take the lead in the Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Kingdom Working Group (HEP), a formalized crisis-response body responsible for coordinating medical evacuations and healthcare response across Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands.
The agreement strengthens inter-island cooperation in disaster scenarios, including hurricanes, pandemics and large-scale emergencies. One of the key deliverables is the expansion of the existing “Crisis Manual Medical Pre- and Post-Evacuation” to include the ABC islands, with completion set for June 1, 2026.
For Curaçao, this represents both opportunity and responsibility. As one of the larger islands with established healthcare infrastructure, Curaçao will play a central logistical and coordination role in regional emergency patient transfers.
The agreement also confirms annual joint exercises and structured crisis simulations, ensuring that evacuation routes, hospital distribution plans and emergency communication systems are operational before disaster strikes.
Given Curaçao’s vulnerability to extreme weather events and its central role in regional patient referrals, the expanded framework significantly enhances the island’s strategic importance within Kingdom healthcare preparedness.