BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, June 21, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, has called for a renewed commitment from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority to ensure that the matter of health remains a critical focus on the agendas of the individual member countries.
Prime Minister Harris made that call during a media briefing at the conclusion of the 65th Meeting of the OECS Authority, held in St. Lucia on Tuesday, June 19. Dr. Harris was at the time supported by Chairman of the OECS Authority and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves; immediate past Chair of the OECS Authority and Prime Minister of St. Lucia, the Honourable Allan Chastanet; and Director General of the OECS Commission, Dr. Didacus Jules.
Among the health concerns Prime Minister Harris said requires the continued attention at the highest level is the threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and referred to the fact that it was Caribbean leaders who brought the matter of NCDs to the fore at an international level.
“This year, we are having a high-level meeting at the UN (United Nations) in September. They voted to the issue of NCDs and indeed it is, in my view, somewhat of a tribute to the lead role which the CARICOM leaders had played,” said Prime Minister Harris, who is also the Lead Head for Health and HIV in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet.
Furthermore, the St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister noted that more work is needed to address the issue of HIV/AIDS in the region, particularly as it relates to the funding of prevention and treatment programmes.
In 2017, Directors of the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is America’s global fund to fight AIDS around the world, announced the termination of funding to several of the Caribbean countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“And so, within the OECS, we are going to face another mechanism of graduation and the question will be how do we continue to achieve success, how do we continue our programmes now that they will have to be carried by the states’ budgets as opposed to being the beneficiary of subvention,” Prime Minister Harris said, while noting that St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda are among six Caribbean islands recognized for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
Dr. Harris also stressed the need to continue to work towards achieving the UNAIDS 90–90–90 target that calls for 90 percent of people living with HIV diagnosed by 2020, 90 percent of diagnosed people receiving sustained antiretroviral treatment by 2020, and 90 percent of people on antiretroviral treatment having viral suppression by 2020.
