Freedom of Trade and Economic Activity

The programme has provided another form of support to the health services in the seven Protocol Member States through the organisation of training programmes for health professionals that enable them to improve the delivery of healthcare.

The Member States have derived financial benefits from the PPS through the savings on the cost of drugs – estimated at EC$10 million annually – and through financial surpluses it has been able to redistribute to the seven Protocol Member States. The PPS is self-financing as it charges a small administrative fee for its services. The regional approach to managing critical health issues that are common to all the countries has attracted international assistance for illnesses other than HIV/AIDS. In 2018, the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) provided US$400,000 to the OECS for a two-year “OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project” that was expected to train approximately 300 senior level health care professionals, provide comprehensive care and follow-up to 7,500 diabetes patients in the five islands involved in the project; and establish or strengthen four diabetes clinics in each of the islands. A second project funded by the World Diabetes Foundation, “Diabetes in Disasters in Eastern Caribbean Island States”, aimed at addressing and mitigating risks due to natural disasters and subsequent disruption of health care for people with diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. The WDF has provided US$374,917 for the two-year project which began in 2019.

Membership in the OECS of the French Overseas Departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe has also facilitated OECS Commission’s efforts to institute health care cooperation programmes between OECS Member States and these Departments. Of particular concern was the high cost and the administrative hurdles for non-French nationals. For decades, nationals of the original OECS Member States travelled to Martinique and Guadeloupe to seek medical care that was not available in their home countries. Overtime, the costs became prohibitive and the application process burdensome. Formal cooperation between the French Overseas Departments and the other OECS Member States began in November 2017 when the OECS Council of Ministers of Health, at a meeting in Martinique in November 2017 issued the Fort De France Declaration on Health affirming the commitment to regional solidarity in health care.

Functional Cooperation in Health

FORT DE FRANCE DECLARATION ON HEALTH CARE

We the OECS Ministers of Health attending the fourth (4th) Meeting of the Council of Ministers Health held at Fort de France in Martinique on November 10th 2017. Acknowledging the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health as articulated by the World Health Organisation; Recognising the social and economic cost of disease and disability, as well as the rising cost of Healthcare Services and the susceptibility of vulnerable populations in the Member States of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States; Cognisant of the vulnerabilities of our Member States to health emergencies, including outbreaks, climate change and natural disasters. Recognising health as an economic contributor and a driver of investor and visitor confidence in our region; Recalling the Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Economic union, free movement in Protocol Member States, a common approach to social policy and an emphasis on functional cooperation; Noting the right of OECS citizens of the Protocol Member States to access primary and secondary public healthcare services in all Protocol Member States; Recalling the desire of Protocol Member States to undertake a co-operative approach to develop sustainable and resilient health systems, policies and infrastructure. Cognisant of the 2030 health related Sustainable Development Goals; Noting that “A Healthy Caribbean” is one of the four priority areas in the United Nations Multi—Country Sustainable Development Framework in the Caribbean (UN MSDAF- Caribbean) 2017-2021; Building on 31 years of pooled procurement of medicines and medical supplies and a history of regional responses to infectious, communicable diseases including HIV and TB within the OECS; Desirous of pursuing regional approaches to the growing problem of non-communicable diseases within the region; Understanding the need for the consideration of Health In All Policies; Endorsing the four pillars of the OGDS Health Agenda 2017 to 2030. 1. Healthy Environments and Health Empowerment. 2. Equity in Access to Sustainable Quality Healthcare

Services. 3. Accessible Information for Strategic Governance of

Health Systems. 4. Long-term Investment in the Health Sector.

Now therefore, we commit to the following actions through existing or new mechanisms geared toward the realisation of

Health for All: 1. Share Health Human Resources; 2. Facilitate pooled procurement of health equipment and services; 3. Collect and share the relevant information to drive the strategic direction of health including quality and outcome indicators; 4. Develop and implement common policy and legislative approaches in health; 5. Develop and disseminate common messages on healthy living; 6. Create healthy environments through appropriate planning, development and community engagement; 7. Prioritise prevention and primary care particularly for non communicable diseases; 8. Share access to specialised services; 9. Jointly prepare for and respond to health emergencies; and 10. Share Best Practices and conduct common research.

Concrete steps in that direction commenced about one year later with the launching, in Saint Lucia in October 2018 of the INTERREG CARES (Cooperation, Accessibility, Referrals, E-Information System) initiative - a €5 million project funded by the European Union to deepen cooperation and health care in the region.

The project’s objectives: • Improve access for OECS nationals to the health services of the French Departments through the harmonisation of fees and billing procedures, the creation of a unique identification number for patients of the OECS and the coordination of medical data-sharing.

• Focus on improving health care for every citizen of the OECS;

• Improve health governance and cooperation in the region;

• Initiate 17 essential medical projects in telemedicine, anticipated cancer screening and treatments through new technologies, screening of sickle cell anaemia and HIV, orthopaedic surgeries, paediatric surgery, cardiology, ophthalmology, emergency treatments, access to medical labs and assistance to the elderly.

The two-year project is led by the regional health agency of Guadeloupe and includes several public and private health organisations in Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Teacher’s Resource Book

EDUCATION

Cooperation in education by the Member States of the OECS commenced in 1992. In that year, OECS Governments accepted a ten-year strategy for reform of the education system in their respective country that was called Foundations For the Future (FFF). FFF (1991 – 2000) concentrated on harmonising education systems at all levels throughout the region; the terms and conditions of service of teachers; administration and management and financing education. In order to coordinate and implement the FFF strategy, in 1993 the Education Reform Unit (OERU) was established within the then OECS Secretariat. It was later renamed the Education Development Management Unit (EDMU). The FFF strategy was revised in 2000 and another ten-year plan – Pillars for Partnership and Progress (PPP) was instituted.

Through these education reform plans, the OECS has developed common curricula; trained teachers; strengthened management of Ministries of Education through common management practices; attracted technical and financial resources from international development agencies for education development in the region; provided model education legislation; and offered general guidance for the development of education in the Member States.

In May 2012, the Council of Ministers of Education adopted a new regional plan for education – the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS) which builds upon the earlier reform plans (FFF and PPP) and guides the development of education in the region for the decade 2012 - 2021. OESS was timely as it has been the mechanism through which Eastern Caribbean Governments have been addressing their agreement in the Economic Union Protocol to harmonise policies in education. In Article 22 of the Revised Treaty, the Governments of the OECS commit to providing “fair and equitable access to inclusive education and training opportunities for all citizens.’’ The vision of the OESS is “every learner succeeds” so that “all citizens, at every stage of the learning journey, from early years to adulthood are able to reach their full potential and be successful in life, work and in society”. The attainment of better quality education throughout the OECS will contribute to the economic and social development of all the countries which is the goal of the economic union.