BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN yet another sign of the strong partnership between the two countries, the Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan has endorsed a project from the Federation’s Ministry of Health for US$100 000.
A brief ceremony was held yesterday (Feb. 10) at the Ministry of Health’s offices in the Bladen Commercial Development in which the monies were formally presented to Health Minister Hon. Rupert Herbert by ROC Taiwan Ambassador Rong-Chuan Wu.
The funds will be used to enhance the Ministry’s oral health programmes in keeping with the dental health requirements mandated by its 2008-2013 National Strategic Health Plan (NSHP).
The specific areas to be targeted by the Ministry are the expansion of the Dental Sealant Programme, which caters for children enrolled in primary schools throughout St. Kitts, and the procurement of several pieces of essential equipment to better position dental health units to serve the general public.
Herbert said the collaboration between the two governments in regards to healthcare had been in existence for quite some time and it had contributed to the advancement of healthcare within the Federation in several ways.
“This project will ensure that schoolchildren and the working population get proper dental healthcare. They will be screened to spot deterioration in their dental health quickly and early so that appropriate action can be taken.
“The Taiwanese government has always been timely in its interventions. It has assisted us in the area of diagnostics, with our eye clinic and in the area of transport. They have also assisted us in the purchase new ambulances to expand the Emergency Medical Services programme, in the establishment of the Intensive Care Unit at the Joseph N. France Hospital and the purchase of other vehicles for use by the Ministry,” Herbert said.
The Health Minister revealed that the Pogson Hospital in Sandy Point had recently been completed and would become operational in late March. He stated that it would house a dental clinic and improved oral health services would be offered at the Mary Charles Hospital in Molineux.
“One of our oral health goals as outlined in the NSHP was to expand the provision of dental services and to improve access to these services. The injection of these monies from the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund will help to improve and decentralise the services offered.
“Pogson Hospital has been completed, so now is a good time to expand the programme in Sandy Point and the surrounding environs. We will now be able to cover a greater number of persons, which will facilitate an enhancement in overall health as oral health is an important component of a person’s general well-being,” Herbert stressed.
