TCI News
Argentina and the UK host Joint Covid Vaccine Webinar with focus on Latin America and the Caribbean
#Caribbean – December 17, 2020- Argentina and the UK hosted a virtual seminar on access to vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean addressing the portfolio of emerging vaccines against Covid-19, the challenge of equitable distribution and how best to tackle vaccine disinformation.
On 14 December 2020, Argentina’s Health Minister, Ginés González García and the UK’s Minister of State for the Americas, Wendy Morton MP opened the virtual seminar “Vaccine profiles, distribution challenges and countering vaccine disinformation in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The event brought together senior officials and medical experts from across the region to discuss efforts to bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end and how best to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Representatives from 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and 11 nations from other regions joined leaders from the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Caribbean Health Agency, and The Vaccine Confidence Project.
Doctor Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO, updated attendees on the rapid progress of the COVAX Facility, the global initiative working with governments and the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that all countries, no matter their economic circumstances, will have fair and equitable access to vaccines. Both Argentina and the UK back the COVAX Facility and its work to pool the international community’s collective resources, to share and mitigate risks, and to expedite vaccine development and manufacturing.
Diverse Portfolio
The seminar reviewed the emerging portfolio of Covid-19 vaccine candidates and the importance of a diverse range of safe and effective vaccines to enable distribution and delivery at the scale required to end the acute phase of the pandemic. Given the global scale of that challenge, the answer will not lie with one successful vaccine or one single country; a wide range of vaccines, as is being supported by the COVAX Facility, is needed to take into account the many different country contexts and to ensure diverse population groups can be reached as quickly and effectively as possible. Participants addressed the urgent need for investment in specialised distribution infrastructure for that mass vaccination effort, both in the short and long-term, to ensure that we have the structural resilience in place to tackle Covid-19 and future health emergencies.
The event also shared emerging best practice on efforts to counter disinformation and vaccine hesitancy, factors which risk prolonging the crisis by inhibiting people taking up Covid-19 vaccines. Participants agreed transparency, openness and proactive and positive communications were key to overcome vaccine hesitancy and combat disinformation.
This UK-Argentina seminar is the third in a series of joint events with the region. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Minister Wendy Morton, representing the UK, said:
“I am delighted that the UK is hosting this event with Argentina, a key partner in the global and regional response to Covid-19 playing a vital role in vaccines development and manufacturing in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The UK is committed to ensuring a truly global response to Covid-19, both through events like today’s and through our investment in the world’s multilateral response, including the COVAX Facility. We are proud backers of COVAX as the best mechanism to deliver a truly global response to the pandemic and to realise our goal of equitable access to safe and effective vaccines for all.”
Argentina’s Health Minister, Ginés González García said:
“The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a health crisis, it is a human crisis that has revealed, as never before, the vulnerabilities of health systems around the world. However, it provides a unique opportunity to rethink more equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies”.
The UK has pledged up to £548m to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment, which supports access to vaccines for lower and middle-income countries. This is in addition to the UK’s commitment to COVAX as a self-funding nation.
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 25 February 2026: Staff of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) participated in a one‑day Professional Staff Development Workshop on Thursday, 19th February 2026. The session was facilitated by former DDME Director (2011–2021) and current Permanent Secretary of the Governor’s Office, Dr. Virginia Clerveaux.
The in-house workshop was organised by the DDME Training Unit, to focus on the National Disaster Management Framework, strengthening staff understanding of their roles and responsibilities within disaster management. The session also aimed to enhance the effectiveness of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) and reinforce inter‑agency coordination.
Drawing on her extensive experience in disaster management in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as several deployments to CDEMA member states including Haiti, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, Dr. Clerveaux provided practical insights that reinforced key concepts and clarified operational expectations. Staff members actively participated in discussions and shared recommendations to improve sub‑committee performance and overall departmental efficiency.
To support learning retention, the workshop incorporated pre‑ and post‑assessments, enabling participants to evaluate their understanding and track improvements.
Acting Director of DDME, Mr. Kevaun Lucas stated: “Investing in the continued development of our team is essential to strengthening national resilience. This and future planned workshops will help to reinforce our commitment to building a highly skilled, well‑coordinated workforce capable of leading and supporting disaster management efforts across the Turks and Caicos Islands. I am proud of the team’s engagement and encouraged by the meaningful contributions they made throughout the session.”
This Professional Staff Development Workshop forms part of DDME’s ongoing commitment to enhancing internal capacity, strengthening operational coordination and improving overall departmental synergy as the agency continues to advance national preparedness and response capabilities.
Photo Captions:
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 20 February 2026 — The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU), in collaboration with key
government agencies, coordinated a multi-agency enforcement exercise on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at Block and Parcel 60609/33 in the Five Cays area.
The exercise was led by the Crown Land Unit, pursuant to its statutory mandate under the Crown Land Ordinance to prevent squatting and encroachment on Crown land. The ISU coordinated the operation, with support provided by the Planning Department and the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, while the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force ensured security throughout the activity.
The enforcement action followed a series of inspections conducted by the Crown Land Unit throughout Five Cays, which identified several illegally constructed buildings made of concrete and timber on sections of the subject parcel. In keeping with the provisions of the Crown Land Ordinance, occupied structures were served Letters of Illegal Occupation, delivered by hand to occupants and
posted on structures where individuals were absent. Incomplete and unoccupied structures were served Notices of Unauthorized Occupation pursuant to section 22 of the Ordinance. A total of ten (10) Letters of Illegal Occupation and three (3) Notices of Unauthorized Occupation were issued during the exercise.
The Informal Settlements Unit reiterates that these coordinated enforcement exercises form part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to uphold the law, protect Crown land, and manage informal settlements in a structured and lawful manner. Members of the public are reminded that unauthorised occupation and development on Crown land is unlawful and subject to enforcement action.
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
