ZJCN appoints Melissa Arias as Interim Head of Healthcare
Care and Youth Caribbean Netherlands (is proud to announce that Melissa Arias has been appointed Interim Head of Healthcare with immediate effect. She will be assuming responsibility for the duties of former head Curvin George until 1 April 2026, to ensure continuity within the healthcare domain.
Melissa Arias studied medicine at the University of Groningen and has extensive experience in public healthcare in both the European and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. A significant part of her professional life was spent on Curaçao, where she lived and worked for several years. She was Head of Medicine and Health Affairs at the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature from 2020 to 2024, and prior to that, she worked for the Municipal Health Service (GGD) on Curaçao. This experience means she has an in-depth understanding of healthcare in the Caribbean context and of the associated challenges.
More recently she worked at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, where she was involved in policy, programme management and the organisation of healthcare. The combination of her medical expertise, administrative experience and knowledge of the Caribbean healthcare domain means she is the ideal candidate to act as interim manager of ZJCN's healthcare domain.
ZJCN stated that, “with the appointment of Melissa Arias, the continuity of the healthcare domain is guaranteed” and that, “her experience and involvement in the Caribbean region provide a strong basis on which to build for the future.”