Ministry of Health receives 2011 Award for Excellence from PAHO

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment is the recipient of the 2011 Award for Excellence in Public Health Surveillance{{more}} from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/ Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC).

This award comes in response to the Ministry’s excellent performance in public health surveillance during 2010-2011. The award was presented at the 11th Meeting of Caribbean National Epidemiologists and Laboratory Directors held May 9-13, 2011, in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Health Officials who represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines at this meeting were the National epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer George, Chief Laboratory Technologist Claudette Laidlow-Williams and the Senior Nursing Officer Community Nursing Services Sister Ferosa Roache.

This award is now presented to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for maintaining an optimal surveillance system in a timely and complete manner. The Public Health Surveillance team comprises a range of health care workers that offer different levels of expertise in public health surveillance such as infections control, public health, health promotion, clinical care, disease surveillance and pharmaceuticals. This committee is further strengthened by other stakeholders who ensure optimum action and response to public health issues in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Public Health Surveillance is a National commitment in collaboration with PAHO/CAREC to monitor and respond to diseases. The surveillance systems include mortality, communicable disease and non-communicable disease surveillance. Surveillance reports are provided on a weekly, monthly or annual basis.

The Public Health Surveillance team within the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment pledges to continue its dedicated work in Public Health Surveillance to ensure that St. Vincent and the Grenadines maintains an optimal functioning public health surveillance system.