Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 07, 2014 (SKNIS) -- A two-member team of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has arrived in St. Kitts today (May 7) to conduct an assessment of Basseterre High School (BHS).
Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. Babatunde Olowokure and Technical Officer of Environment Health Assessments in the Environmental Health and Sustainable Development Department, Lesmond Magloire, who both have extensive experience in conducting environmental investigations, will be here until Saturday (May 10).
The agency has stated that it is ready to provide support to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The objectives of the CARPHA team are:
• To investigate the situation at BHS, the factors leading up to the current situation in the school, and its impact both on and off site;
• To identify and transmit without delay to the appropriate national authorities any information requiring immediate action to improve safety and/or environmental protection in relation to the incident;
• To work closely with key stakeholders both to obtain information relevant to the investigation and to keep them informed of progress;
• To make recommendations for future action to ensure effective management and mitigation;
• To provide a draft report to national authorities at debriefing and a final report within two weeks of departure.
The CARPHA mission follows the recent visit of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) last month. This afternoon, the CARPHA team met with the Ministries of Health and Education. Over the course of the next few days, the team will meet with the staff of the school and other key stakeholders. They will also visit the entire school to carry out a physical inspection and take samples. Environmental assessments will be made on areas surrounding the school and interviews will be conducted with affected and non-affected staff and pupils.
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