TCI: Premier Robinson participates in Health in All Policies workshop

#Providenciales, July 12, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Government Ministers and members of Parliament were in attendance at the first of a series workshops as part of a Ministry of Health, Agriculture, Sport and Human Services and Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) joint initiative geared toward Health in all Policies. Minister for Health, Hon. Edwin Astwood brought remarks for the opening of the event at the Shore Club on Monday, 8 July 2019.

The main objectives for the training exercise was to: –

•         Obtain commitment to consider health outcomes during policy making across all sectors of government

•         Identify roles of health and non-health sectors in a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach using the examples of Non-Communicable Diseases and Climate Change

•         Identify opportunities for a HiAP approach in Turks and Caicos Islands

•         Build capacity to promote, implement and evaluate HiAP

•         Facilitate exchange of experiences and lessons learned, and encourage multi-sectoral collaboration

Throughout the day, there were presentations on the Introduction and the Determinants of Health; Sustainable Development Goals; 21st- Century Health Dynamic and Inequality; Health in All Policies; The Role of Government and Non-Governmental Stakeholders in HiAP and the Whole of Government Approaches to HiAP.

The Premier participated in a full day of training and group sessions, facilitated by PAHO officials including: PAHO/World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Esther de Gourville; and National PAHO Consultants: Dr Keva Thompson and Brittany Jones.

Commenting on the training exercise, Premier Robinson stated: “As the Minister of Finance, I can say that it is very important to ensure that good health practices are threaded throughout all policies because the largest chunk of TCI’s budget is going to health. We are spending a considerable amount on illnesses; so not only is this training very timely, but it is crucial to decision making going forward.

This information will help us as policy makers to ensure that healthcare takes priority and is included in the process of policy development to shift our practices and habits and also redirect funding to go toward prevention initiatives rather than response.

So this exercise will do wonders for Turks and Caicos; it will do wonders for the Ministry of Finance but it will also help to form a population that is more productive, that is healthier and that hopefully will live longer.

I applaud the Ministry of Health for this wonderful initiative and look forward to a more health conscious approach to policy making across Government.”

Workshops continue until Wednesday, 10 July 2019 to include senior officials in Government and other relevant stakeholders.

Release: TCIG