Newsfrom our Region
PM Douglasof St Kitts/Nevis Proposes Compensation for Loss of Professionaland Skilled Labour
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. theHon. Denzil L. Douglas has proposed that Caribbean countries seeksome compensation in the form of reimbursement of the cost oftraining professionals from the recipients of skilled labour.
He told a high-powered United States delegation headed by Secretaryof Health and Human Services, the Hon. Tommy Thompson and CaribbeanMinisters of Health, that the meeting should also consider thetraining of more nursing professionals and negotiating with thereceiving countries and institutions the mechanisms for managingmigration.
Prime Minister Douglas pointed to accessto better healthcare as one of the underlying causes of migration,stating that it has become essential for Caribbean countries tomake every effort to improve its health care services. "Thiscannot be achieved if our skilled labour force is leaving, andthe quality and numbers required to deliver quality healthcareare compromised. In addition, the widening technological gap iscreating vast inequalities in access to 'quality' care. For thisand other reasons, countries like ours in the Caribbean are ata serious disadvantage. We are therefore at further risk,"said the St. Kitts and Nevis leader.
Prime Minister Douglas said the viciouscycle, exacerbated by the relatively high debt burdens that manyof the Caribbean countries are experiencing, justifies the considerationof a new formula which will address in a holistic manner severalconcerns, particularly in light of the rising incidence burdenof HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Region.
He noted that at the recent Meeting of theCouncil For Human and Social Development (COHSOD), which met inGuyana prior to the United States-Caribbean Health Ministers Meeting,a Report from the Regional Nursing Council on the migration ofnurses in ever increasing numbers was received with great andgrave concern.
"Since the quality and adequacy ofnursing care is a major factor in reducing the levels of morbidityand mortality, the constant attrition of this important resourcefrom the Caribbean must inevitably impact negatively on the qualityof care which is delivered, as well as have a consequent effecton efforts to change the focus from curative to preventative healthmeasures and responses," said Prime Minster Douglas, whoadded: "This also has consequences for the current effortsto link prevention with treatment and with care."
Dr. Douglas said training and capacity buildingwas another critical challenge. He said CARICOM Health Ministerswere pleased to have received the proposal by the United StatesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and HRSA forthe Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Initiative (CHART) whichis a resource centre for training professionals in the area ofHIV/AIDS. While this will not completely address the migrationproblem, it will significantly improve the Region's ability todeal with the care and treatment issues. The proposal makes provisionfor locating these Centers in four countries, The Bahamas, Jamaica,Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
"I stress that all countries requiresuch initiatives but within the region there are several countriessuch as the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti and Suriname thatrequire urgent attention. We would urge that the current initiativein this area include these countries," said Prime MinisterDouglas.
He said the Caribbean has embarked on regionalnegotiations with pharmaceutical companies for cheaper ARVs. "Ourexperience teaches us that we must debunk the notion that thepharmaceutical companies assess the ability of countries to affordthese drugs, on the basis of their GDP when determining the levelof reduction in the price at which they would supply the requiredARVs. In this Meeting we make a very strong appeal," saidPrime Minister Douglas, who called for the support of the UnitedStates making the case for acquiring drugs on a "budget neutral"approach.
"This approach assumes that the costof opportunistic infections is the same as the cost of treatmentof HIV/AIDS and that the Public Sector meets the cost of opportunisticinfections as a whole.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Leader said theCaribbean's response has been to develop and strengthen its collectiveefforts through the Pan Caribbean Partnership. The Pan CaribbeanPartnership has already received acclaim as being a model forregional cooperation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Its operationsare guided by a Regional Strategic Plan which focuses on somecore areas including prevention, care and treatment, information,communications and public education, advocacy and resource mobilisation."In this regard the focal points for the various core areas,CAREC, CRN+, UWI and CHRC, coordinated by the CARICOM, play pivotalroles in linking regional and national responses and ensuringthat maximum collaboration results in pooling resources and minimisingthe duplication of resources while maximising the impact of thevarious joint initiatives," said Prime Minister Douglas.
He told the United States Secretary of Healthand Human Services, that the next Caribbean Heads of Governmentmeeting will be pleased to learn that this long awaited US/Caribbeandialogue on HIV/AIDS was actually convened.
Dr. Douglas said now that the United Statesand the Caribbean have actually embarked on a journey intent onaddressing a common problem it is his hope and that of the otherCaribbean leaders that when they meet in Guyana for the annualConference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in July 2002, "Iwould wish to report to my fellow Heads who endorsed my participationat this meeting as a serious expression of the Region's commitment,that you too have demonstrated your commitment to build a sustainablepartnership, Mr. Secretary."
"Let us therefore, take this opportunity,to make and reaffirm history. Let us do so by doing somethingconcrete for the people of the Caribbean and the people of theUnited States of America. History will ever record an inadequateappreciation of this US/Caribbean high-level meeting if we cantruly move forward with joint action to reduce the scourge ofHIV/AIDS," said Prime Minister Douglas, adding: "Anythingless, would lead to deserved condemnation, not only by this presentgeneration but also by future generations of the Caribbean andof the United States of America."