Last week the island’s health emergency and disaster risk management processes were assessed using the Strategic Tool for Assessing Risks (STAR) toolkit.
Stakeholders representing the public sector and statutory organizations converged at the Cocoa Palm Hotel for a three-day workshop facilitated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), from Aug. 22 to 24.
STAR is a comprehensive toolkit that was developed under the International Health Regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Framework that enables countries to strategically plan and prioritize health emergency and disaster risk management activities.
The workshop was conducted collaboratively by the Ministry of Health, PAHO and the World Bank who provided funding through the OECS Regional Health Project.
Addressing the workshop participants, Dr. Stella Chungong, Director of the WHO’s Health Security Department, Emergency Programme, stated: “The COVID-19 Pandemic demonstrated that the world was not prepared to deal with a pandemic of this magnitude. This event has had devastating consequences that has affected not only the health sector but the economy, international trade, social life, politics and many other areas of society. It is therefore imperative that we consider how to prepare, prevent, detect, respond to and recover from health emergencies.”
Senior Medical Officer for Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Gail Gajadhar, underscored the importance of proper planning in disaster management.
“Saint Lucia is currently classified as an upper-middle income country, but we all know that we don’t have those resources. STAR will allow us to look at the risks and prioritize what we have so that we can effectively use resources during disaster responses.
Also addressing the workshop via a virtual address was acting PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Dr. Prabhjot Singh.
During the STAR workshop participants engaged in several activities such as compiling and sharing relevant existing data and information; drafting and presenting the country’s context; and sharing results and making recommendations.
SOURCE: Ministry of Health/ SLT
It is amazing to me that governmental and medical officials from St. Lucia and the wider Caribbean still believe that US-funded organizations such as PAHO & the World Bank have their best interests at heart, when they are corralled into these junkets. Wake up folks! It’s all about preserving fast-diminishing markets for US corporations! They do not even care about the well-being of US citizens after disasters; you think they will care about us?
Perfect example – the devastating fires this month in Lahaina, Maui ()worst US fire disaster in 100 years): The Biden administration said they would send (if they actually follow up on their promise) a one-time check of only US$700 dollars per household to (currently homeless) residents who had lost their houses in the fire. But more gallingly, Biden stipulated that approval of this aid would be linked to Congress sending an additional US$24.1 billion to Ukraine! (I am not making this up!)
Here are some of the reactions from Lahaina residents:
Maui Residents ERUPT IN RAGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH1v6ldPq3k
You just can’t make this $#it up:
Government Installs BLACK FENCING Encircling Lahaina!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C12J-x6PYTc
The US is getting so increasingly desperate to retain their tenuous grip over their free-falling empire, that their repressive tactics are becoming ever more overt. Here is a clip explaining the current situation:
GoFundMe Sides With WAR MACHINE– Silences Grayzone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c2edGSH0X4
Here’s what Biden learnt from his recent tour of Maui, Hawaii:
Biden Actually Pushing ANOTHER Round Of Jabs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmbND0QNl0