B.V.I. Tuesday May 5 – The Ministry of Health and Social Development through its Environmental Health Division (EHD), has pledged to move forward with its plans for the implementation of a Port Health Programme in the territory.
This was the assurance of the Minister for Health and Social Development, Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC, as stated by the Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Mrs. Ritzia Turnbull-Smith, in her delivery of remarks during the opening ceremony of the Port Health Workshop on Monday May 4, 2009 at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary stated that “on recognizing the significance and the importance of the vital services to be provided under the Port Health Programme, the Health Minister was quite eager to have the programme mobilized and has pledged her full support”
Mrs. Turnbull-Smith further stated “that new and emerging diseases are coming to the global front, posing a threat to public health and international health security”. She advised that the “BVI needed to be prepared for such events and hazards due to chemical or nuclear sources.”
As such, one of the objectives of the Port Health Workshop is to introduce the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, by the World Health Assembly which entered into force on
The Deputy Permanent Secretary also advised that “the IHR (2005) could only succeed if there was collaboration among all agencies in fulfilling their obligations.” She urged cooperation and said that each agency represented at the workshop “had a responsibility and obligation in the initiative, which when undertaken as cohesive effort, would produce greater yield in terms of effectiveness of the Port Health Programme in the Territory.”
Mrs. Turnbull-Smith stated that in the Government’s efforts to move the programme forward, funding had been increased by $45,000 and approval granted in the 2009 budget for two new Environmental Health Officers positions, as well as a vehicle specifically for the Port Health Programme. She added that the Ministry of Health and Social Development was also currently in negotiations with the BVI Ports Authority for office space at Port Purcell.
The Port Health workshop is being hosted by the Ministry of Health and Social Development and the Environmental Health Division, in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). It is designed to impart knowledge on the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, as well as raise awareness on the importance of healthy ports.
The Environmental Health Division is the government agency under the portfolio of the Ministry of Health and Social Development responsible for the management of vector control programs as well as monitoring food safety, water quality, institutional hygiene and port health.
British Virgin Islands News