Last Updated on January 16, 2023, 2:33 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, attended the Health Minister’s Session of the Voice of South Summit 2023 organized by India. St Kitts and Nevis’s Prime Minister was a virtual attendant at the Government of India event hosted on January 13, 2023. Dr Drew delivered an address at the event as a representative of CARICOM.
The Prime Minister is the Caribbean Community’s lead head for Human Resources and Health. The Global South refers to the world’s developing and less developed countries. The Caribbean Sub-Region and St Kitts & Nevis are a part of such representation.
The address delivered by the Prime Minister centred around “Cooperation to build a resilient health care system” Dr Terrance Drew, a medical practitioner trained in Cuba, addressed the challenges that affected the CARICOM health care services over the last three years.
During the presentation, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Government of India on behalf of CARICOM for their generosity towards the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government of India donated 570,000 doses of COVISHIELD Vaccines to CARICOM, 20,000 doses of COVISHIED vaccines, and 400,000 USD worth of life-saving medicines and medical supplies in 2020 & 2021.”
In the capacity of CARICOM’s lead Head for Human Resources & Health, Dr Terrance Drew works closely with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). The CARPHA initiated and managed the region’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They utilized their strategic framework, also known as the Caribbean Cooperation in Health (CCH) Phase IV.
Dr Terrance Drew’s address highlighted the challenges and unprecedented impact COVID-19 had on the member states of CARICOM. The address specifically mentioned the issues faced in education, public health, digital security, tourism, and immigration.
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis also discussed the issue of Long COVID in his presentation. Long COVID refers to post-COVID-19 conditions and complications that crop up in individuals with probable or confirmed COVID-19 infection. These complications usually become apparent three months after the COVID-19 infection. Symptoms for these complications last for at least two months. The doctors are unable to explain them by another diagnosis.
Dr Drew believes that long covid is a factor that intensifies several Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health challenges. These complications are known to cause heart disease, diabetes, and brain fog. He further emphasized that they need to pursue an aggressive way forward as NCDs and Long-Covid are becoming a public health burden”.
Dr Terrance Drew Concluded his presentation with a plea addressed to the other attendants to safeguard the healthcare workforce. The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis talked about the importance of regional co-operation. He highlighted the issue of the development and management of human resources.
Additionally, he stressed ensuring continued health service delivery given the challenges surrounding human resource shortages in the Caribbean subregion.
He noted that during the height of the pandemic, St Kitts & Nevis and other member states benefited from the assistance of health personnel from Cuba to assist with healthcare delivery during the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Various Heads of Government of CARICOM, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and other health officials were at the virtual event.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
