#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