The Saint Lucia Health System Strengthening Project is one of the most recent initiatives forged out of a partnership with the government of Saint Lucia and the World Bank.

Health planner in the Ministry of Health Lauren James unveils the aim of the project is to improve the accessibility, efficiency, and responsiveness of healthcare delivery in Saint Lucia to its population.

“The Health System Strengthening Project is a four-year project funded by the World Bank, being implemented by the Ministry of Health. It basically looks at strengthening our primary healthcare system as well as strengthening our preparedness for any public health emergency that we may have as well as the implementation of National Health Insurance.”

Steps will be taken to strengthen the supply of services at the primary health facilities and build capacity of the staff within the Department of Health and Wellness.

“Citizens can expect to have a more strengthened primary health care system in terms of being able to access services there in terms of certain tests, doctors being available, regarding supplies, there is no shortage of supplies, we are also looking at persons not having to pay out of pocket to access services, so there will be a pre-payment mechanism which is really want the health insurance is and based on your package of services then you will be able to access care without having to think of how you getting those services . We can also expect to have a more strengthened public health response so that when we experience things like COVID-19 that we are not scrambling to try to put structures in place.”

Improvements in the healthcare sector will also include enhancements in infrastructure, equipment, supplies and training of staff.