The 17th meeting of the OECS/PPS Policy Board followed by the 6th meeting of OECS Ministers Responsible of Health will be convened in Antigua and Barbuda on the 12th and 13th June 2003.

Ministers responsible for Health and Permanent Secretaries, as well as officials from the OECS Secretariat, the OECS/Pharmaceutical Procurement Service (OECS/PPS), Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), and CARICOM Secretariat will attend the meetings.

At the OECS/PPS Policy Board meeting, delegates will review the purchasing arrangement for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for the procurement period 2002/2003, approve the annual budget for the fiscal year 2003/2004, and consider a proposal for the private sector purchase of spacers in the treatment of asthma.

Also at the meeting delegates will be updated on the Clinton Foundation project, World Bank assistance for HIV/AIDS, and the CARICOM regional proposal to the Global fund for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Discussions on broad health care issues will include the OECS Health Sector Reform Project, the findings of the studies on Biomedical Equipment and Training Needs Assessment and Reinforcing the Link between Sports and Health. CAREC will also lead discussions on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Cervical Cancer.