Caribbean Times 4th Issue - Thursday 23rd February 2017

Thursday 23rd February 2017 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 9
egional Country Managers Meeting
have been heartening and are
indicative that our success
is viewed as a regional success,”
he stated.
Officials from the World
Health Organization (WHO)
and the Caribbean Public
Health Agency (CARPHA)
are also attending the meeting.
Chief among them is the
PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa
F. Etienne of Dominica.
While addressing the
gathering, Dr Etienne said
that technical matters, strategies
going forward as well
as regional health updates
are high on the agenda at this
year’s meeting.
“Over the next few days,
we will discuss technical
and managerial matters; we
will update ourselves on the
health situation in Antigua
and also the health situation
of all of the countries in the
sub-region. We will address
strategies to confront the
challenges that our countries
experience and we will
have the opportunity as well
to improve and enhance the
technical corporation that
we will deliver to our member
states and strengthen our
planning process,” Dr Etienne
disclosed.
Minister Joseph earlier
noted that having Dr Etienne
in the country will give his
fellow cabinet colleagues the
opportunity to hear directly
from a renowned public
health official on the serious
risks that NCDs pose to individuals
and to countries.
“The Cabinet of Antigua
and Barbuda will receive you
and will have the rare opportunity
to hear directly from
you and other senior PAHO
officials on global and regional
health issues including
the fight against NCDs.
And let me pause here, because
if there is one challenge
facing all of us, it is
the fight that we must wage
against NCDs,” Joseph said.
Apart from hosts Antigua
and Barbuda, some of the
other countries in attendance
include Barbados, Trinidad
and Tobago, Jamaica, Haiti,
Guyana, Suriname, the United
Sates, Venezuela, Belize
and a host of Eastern Caribbean
Countries among others.
The five-day event will
conclude on Friday.