Opening Remarks by
                                            Minister of Health and Social Development Hon. Dancia Penn OBE, QC
                                                             22nd OECS/PPS Policy Board Meeting
                                                                   Long Bay Resort Conference Room
                                                                  Wednesday, 10 September, 2008
 

~~Adz:Left~~ Roadtown, Tortola- Thank you and good evening to everyone:I am pleased to offer warm greetings to all of our visiting delegates at this the 22nd OECS Pharmaceutical Procurement Service (PPS) policy board meeting, on behalf of the Government and people of our beautiful Virgin Islands.

We hosted our first OECS/PPS policy board meeting in back 1993, and from all accounts that meeting was a resounding success.  

I am therefore delighted to welcome the Board back to our shores, particularly in my capacity as Minister of Health and Social Development.  I welcome you too on behalf of the Government and people of the Virgin Islands in the absence of our Premier the Honourable Ralph T O’Neal OBE I have by honour and responsibility as Acting Premier in his absence overseas attending special meeting of OECS heads. We meet at a time when so many of the people of the Caribbean are experiencing difficulties in the wake of the Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Josephine. Tonight we remember especially the people of Cuba, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos.  We must extend our thoughts and hands to them, even as we pray for them.

We are delighted that our Territory was chosen to host this important meeting; and I have every confidence that the meeting tomorrow will be a productive one.

While most of your time will be dedicated to official business, I still embrace this opportunity to extend an invitation for you to set aside some time in your schedule to experience some of “Nature’s Little Secrets.” In the event that this is your first visit to our shores, you too will soon discover the charm beauty of these fair Isles and our people.
 
If you are a returning visitor it is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you back to these islands.

Ladies and gentlemen: as small islands it is imperative for us to cultivate a permanent spirit of partnership and functional cooperation in an effort to better respond to the many common challenges that we face and are likely to faces, in an increasingly sophisticated and interconnected global community. 

The OECS/PPS is a shining example of regional partnership and functional cooperation, providing as it does an invaluable service through the pooled procurement of pharmaceutical and medical supplies, the publishing of regional formulary manuals, training, research and the testing of drug samples.  ~~Adz:Right~~

The partnership we share with regional and sub-regional bodies like the OECS/PPS has helped in ensuring that our Government continues to be able to provide adequate health care services that are within easy access of all residents of the British Virgin Islands.

The British Virgin Islands joined what is now the OECS/PPS in 1989, when it was still known as the Eastern Caribbean Drug Service. Over  that time our partnership has resulted in a variety of benefits.

These benefits include technical assistance that help in ensuring the smooth and efficient functioning of our pharmacy at the Peebles Hospital as well as the supply and dispensing of drugs at our community clinics.

Among other forms of assistance, the OECS/PPS has conducted a number of workshops on drug procurement for the senior staff at the Peebles Hospital and our community clinics.  Over the years, we have also benefited from numerous local workshops for our pharmacists, nurses, and physicians from both the public and the private sector. Other workshops focused on enhancing the skills of our healthcare professionals for offering best treatment to patients with asthma, hypertension, and diabetes among other ailments.

As recently as yesterday (Tuesday), an OECS/PPS sponsored “pharmacovigilance” workshop was held at the Peebles Hospital Annex Training Room.  This has to do with the detection, reporting and analysis of adverse drug reactions to improve the safer use of medicines.

We have also received OECS/PPS funding towards creating air-conditioned storage for the pharmacy unit to ensure drugs are stored as recommended and thereby maintain their effectiveness. 

The area of cost-sharing is perhaps the most glaring evidence of the benefits that we derive from our partnership with the OECS/PPS.  Obtained from outside of the OECS, one month’s supply of a particular brand of antiretroviral therapy costs as much as $450.00 (U.S), whereas under the sub-regional scheme – coordinated by the OECS/PPS – the cost of that same drug in generic form is reduced to $27.00.  The benefits are obvious.

The meeting’s agenda covers a range of important topics that touch and concern all of us, and that call for our collective attention.

Among these are a feasibility study on the pooled procurement of dialysis fluids and supplies; a strategy to combat counterfeit medicines; and the OECS/PPS 2008-2009 Budget.  This last topic is of course of great importance, because not only is it important to ensure that the OESC/PPS is properly funded, but the OECS/PPS must account to the people of the region through their respective governments.

Each of the matters on the agenda is important, as we face situations in which more and more of our citizens are becoming affected by various ailments, including chronic non-communicable diseases like diabetes, and heart disease, and as the cost of prescription drugs continues to rise.

~~Adz:Left~~ The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) has reported that hypertension, obesity, and diabetes are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Caribbean countries.

A recent Health Systems profile for the BVI corroborated those findings, and indicated that chronic diseases were indeed the leading cause of death in our Territory between 1999 and 2005.

Even today diabetes continues to present a serious challenge for us.  There is the high costs associated with drugs and other treatment, the impact on the patient and the family and the cost to the overall economy.  In our small country with a population of under 25, 000, we have close to 30 persons on dialysis.
 
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “counterfeit drugs -- illegal and inherently unsafe -- are a growing public health problem.”

The US/FDA further announced recently that an FDA task force has been working with other agencies and the private sector to help protect that nation's drug supply from the threat of counterfeits drugs.

The problem that we face as small islands operating in the midst of an extremely interconnected global community, is that the chances are extremely high for counterfeit drugs to penetrate our communities.   Absent proper systems and safeguards our vulnerability is greater.

And although we do not have the same financial and other resources that are available to some governments, we share the onerous responsibility of addressing the problem, while protecting our citizens from the impacts of counterfeit drugs.

Combining our efforts in partnership is key to addressing such a challenge.  Dealing with counterfeit drugs is a key area for private/public sector corporation.  It is not only for government to address this, but civil society.

We at the Ministry of Health are now focusing on regulating the pharmaceutical sector in our country more strongly, in order to ensure that the drugs imported are safe, fit for purpose, and of a good quality.

Towards achieving that goal Government earlier this year created and funded a new post of Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services.  At present applicants are being interviewed to fill that position.

Among other duties the soon-to-be-appointed Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services will advise on the procurement of safe, effective pharmaceuticals and monitor the quality of pharmaceuticals entering the Territory.  The person will also be responsible for ensuring that we meet our international obligations under the relevant international conventions.

Our Government remains committed to maintaining its partnership with the OECS/PPS.  Rest assured of the continued support of our Government as the OECS/PPS continues to work on behalf of the people of our sub-region.

~~Adz:Right~~ On Friday, I will participate in the OECS Health Ministers’ meeting at this same location.  I look forward to discussing with my colleagues the many matters that touch and concern all of us. Among the matters we will deal with are: the OECS HIV/AIDS Programme and the role of the OECS RCM, the OECS Harmonized Disaster Preparedness Plan, The way forward for the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and of course, chronic Non-Communicable Diseases.

And even as we maintain and strengthen our relationship with the OECS/PPS and work to improve our capacity to provide quality, affordable pharmaceutical and other facilities for our people, even as Health Ministers meet and make important decisions, we must focus on wellness. 

We are in full accord with the Port of Spain Declaration on Chronic Non Communicable Diseases made at the Special CARICOM Summit in Port of Spain in September 2007, and we will be celebrating Saturday 13th September as “Caribbean Wellness Day”.

Several activities are planned in the British Virgin Islands, as we join our CARICOM neighbours in “Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic Non Communicable Diseases.”

Among those activities, I will be leading a Territory-wide heart healthy walk on Saturday at 5:00am.  I invite all of you to join me on that walk and am happy to tell you that among several others Dr Gina Watson PAHO Representative of WHO, to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean will be joining us on that walk. 

The activities target all communities and individuals across the length and breath of these British Virgin Islands. Ladies and gentlemen: Caribbean Wellness Day is just one more example of our region coming together to face our common challenges.

As I close I extend my best wishes for a very productive meeting. May God continue to bless our sub-region, and I again extend my very warm welcome to each and every one of you. Thank you.