Director of PAHO Dr. Carissa Etienne visits Federation
Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS) — Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr. Carissa Etienne along with Country Programme Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Dr. Godfrey Xeureb are currently in the Federation attending the Caribbean Sub-Regional Managers’ Meeting.
Upon arrival at the Robert L. Bradshaw (RLB) International Airport last Saturday (February 21) Dr. Etienne explained why she was in the Federation.
“Every year we hold a Sub-Regional Managers’ Meeting and we do try to rotate on an annual basis where we have this Managers’ Meeting and so it is not by chance that we are here in St. Kitts-Nevis at this time,” Dr. Etienne explained. “Joining me at this meeting and certainly travelling with me is Dr. Godfrey Xeureb who has a responsibility for Barbados and also the OECS [Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States].”
Dr. Etienne further revealed that health managers from Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and Barbados and host country St. Kitts and Nevis would discuss how best they can assist the Sub-region of the Caribbean to reach their individual millennium health objectives and targets. She emphasized that this is in keeping with PAHO’s mandate to ensure the well-being and health of all the peoples of the Americas.
The PAHO Director expressed a desire for the newly elected St. Kitts and Nevis Government to place the health sector in a prominent position.
“We do look forward to meeting the new government,” Dr. Etienne reflected. “We look forward to having some discussions as they begin their journey on national development and we would like to see health well-positioned in this.”
Dr. Xeureb also noted some objectives of the visit.
“We hope we will have productive discussions with the new government as well as a productive sub-regional managers meeting,” Dr. Xeureb noted. “We will discuss areas in which PAHO will continue to support the sub-region of the Caribbean but also how we can become more efficient and effective in the technical cooperation that we give to countries.”