Last Updated on August 22, 2024, 3:45 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Basseterre, St Kitts: Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Dr Terrance Drew has extended his congratulations to the Public Health Team after St Kitts and Nevis was recognised by the Pan American Health organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its excellent results in vaccination.
The official website of PAHO published an article on August 19, 2024 that St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda have been publicly eyed as the reasons why the Region of Americas is the only WHO region to have exceeded in 2023 vaccination coverages, reported in 2019.
The Director of PAHO, Dr Jarbas Barbosa, has sent letters of appreciation to Prime Minister Terrance Drew and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne.
In his letter of appreciation, he commended the nations for the encouraging results in the routine immunization coverage obtained in the last year. Notably, this information was reported in the joint WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC).
Dr Amalia Del Riego, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC), also expressed her pride in the achievements of the two ECC nations.
PM Drew also congratulated the nation’s health professionals and emphasised their role that they have been continuously playing in strengthening the messages of effectiveness of vaccines and their benefits in the overall protection of individuals.
He stated that the vaccines are completely safe and prevent the diseases that it is capable of. He also urged the citizens of the twin island to regular with their doses of the vaccines included in the national immunisation schedule.
In addition to this, both the nations that achieved the recognition, were reminded that it is necessary to continue making progress in order to return the Region of the Americas to the top of the global ranking in the immunization coverage.
Along with this, the countries were also reminded to maintain their achievements and to advance in the strategy to eliminate communicable diseases.
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.
