PM Harris At PAHO Meeting
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 01, 2015 (SKNIS)
Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, has assured that “St. Kitts and Nevis is open to good business” in all aspects including health.
This was emphasized at the opening of the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Caribbean Sub-Regional Managers’ Meeting, which commenced in St. Kitts and Nevis on February 23, 2015.
The Prime Minister related that the Prosperity for All Agenda of his Government of National Unity includes the health sector.
“My team was elected on a platform, prosperity for all,” Prime Minister Harris noted. “It is a vision of the future” our people in St. Kitts and I daresay our people everywhere, want ““ a future in which health is front and centre in all our policies.. A future which understands that health is both an ingredient and an outcome of development. A future in which development at all cost is rejected in favor of a more sustainable pathway.”
Prime Minister Harris said that he has been advised that for every individual dollar of the Federation’s quota contribution to PAHO, three dollars had been returned in terms of technical cooperation. Further it was made clear that the relationship between St. Kitts and Nevis and PAHO would continue.
“St. Kitts and Nevis values its longstanding relationship with PAHO,” Prime Minister Harris emphasized. “And you said we have a relationship that spans over 100 years, that’s perhaps longer than my grandmother had been around. And over the years PAHO has contributed significantly to progressing health and by extension the social and economic development of the Federation.”
It was emphasized that the United Nations adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals is a step in the right direction.
“Therefore, I am pleased that the United Nations family has expanded the 2015 Millennium Development Goals to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Placing sustainability at the centre of development goals is an opportunity for Small Island States. It suggests external appreciation for our geographic and trade vulnerabilities and a susceptibility to virulent pathogens that can rapidly traverse our airports and seaports without warning,” the Prime Minister stressed.