The OECS Secretariat will convene the 12th Meeting of OECS Ministers with responsibility for Health in conjunction with the Ministry of Heath of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in Kingstown on Friday 11th September, 2009. OECS health ministers meet annually to discuss a range of issues pertaining to the health sector in the region.

Among the issues that will take centre stage at this year’s meeting are: (i) the status of H1N1 in the OECS and the region’s response to the flu pandemic, (ii) the extent of the chronic non-communicable disease (CNCD) problem and strategies for addressing the problem, (iii) an update on the progress made in the prevention, care and treatment of HIV-AIDS, (iv) the impact of the global financial crisis on the health sector in the OECS, (v) the development of a regional social safety net programme in response to the economic crisis, and (vi) training opportunities and tertiary level services in the health sector.

In addition to Ministers of Health and other senior officials from Member State ministries of Health, the meeting will be attended by representatives of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the United States Government’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, the CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Health Leadership Institute, and the Puerto-Rican based HIMA Health Group.