Anguilla is regarded as achieving some significant strides in healthcare and, as a result, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are seeking ways and means of being strategic partners with the island.
That was indicated at the opening ceremony of a workshop involving representatives of the Health Authority of Anguilla; Minister of Health and Social Development, Mr. Evans Rogers; Permanent Secretary, Mr. Foster Rogers; Dr. Godfrey Xuereb and Ms. Donna-Lisa Peña’, PAHO/WHO Representative and Administrator respectively for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean islands. The workshop was held at La Vue Conference Centre on Wednesday, January 16.
Mr. Rogers said in his opening address that PAHO had been a great partner of Anguilla for decades, and had brought to bear a level of professionalism and practice that had served the island well. He went on: “We live by the mantra that the provision of comprehensive quality healthcare services is important for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and managing diseases, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equality for all who reside and visit Anguilla.
“It is my privilege to stand with you and to support the Ministry of Health, the Health Authority of Anguilla and PAHO as we continue to build a new Anguilla. The assistance and contributions of PAHO to making Anguilla a more resilient place, to work and live in, are worthy of praise. I thank PAHO for what it has done for Anguilla and the entire region over the years and continue to do.”
Dr. Xuereb explained certain areas in which PAHO could be a strategic partner of Anguilla. “You need to identify where you think that we are going to be your best strategic partner,” he told the large representative group at the workshop.
He continued: “We are living in a world of economic turmoil – where there is predictability even within the United Nations about our funding. As you know, one of our biggest contributors to the UN is the United States of America, and at the moment we don’t know where the current administration is going vis-à-vis how it looks at the UN. So that creates a little bit of a question mark about the sustainability of our funding. But as both the PAHO Director and the WHO Director General say, ‘our strength is in our human resources’. And I think the same thing can be reflected in the health system in Anguilla.”
The PAHO Representative added: “PAHO continues to pledge its support to the country. It has been a year since I have actually been here and, in that year, I can physically see the development, changes and the reconstruction that have happened since the hurricane. And so, Minister and Permanent Secretary, I want to congratulate the Ministry, and also the leadership of Anguilla, and please convey the message to the rest of the Cabinet, and the leader of the Cabinet, for the good work that has been done.”
