PAHO conducts vaccination training in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Healthcare professionals across the TCI were recently engaged in a two-day training seminar from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on its expanded program on immunisation (EPI).

The training, facilitated by the Ministry of Health and Human Services was conducted in Providenciales, on March 30 and 31.

The team which visited the TCI included the PAHO Sub-Regional Adviser on Immunization, Dr. Karen Broome-Troppin and Dr. Blair Woodside from the PAHO/ WHO office for the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The week began with a courtesy call and introductory meetings with the Minister of Health, Deputy Permanent Secretary, and the Primary Health Care Manager, who also holds the responsible for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

The team visited clinics on the island of Providenciales for a brief EPI assessment. The visit concluded with a two-day training session with health care professionals from across the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Commenting on the assessment and the training, Alrisa Gardiner, Primary Health Care Manager with responsibility for the national immunization programme stated: “The TCI is home to many visitors annually and a highly mobile population and because of this, we are at an increased risk of importation of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) that we have not seen for many years.”

She said as such, the visit by PAHO was truly beneficial to the TCI, not only because it provided the opportunity for the country’s programme to be assessed, but also for local professionals involved with immunisation, to benefit from training on existing and updated information.

“It served as a refresher for some, and for others, this would have been their first exposure to a training of this nature.

“It is my hope that this visit will awaken practices in us that have lain dormant so that together we can boost immunization coverage, mitigate VPDs and regain lost achievements for the TCI in this regard.”

Gardiner said she looks forward to more training opportunities of this nature in the TCI.

Dr. Karen Broome-Troppin in her comments said: “PAHO is committed to supporting countries in the Americas to strengthen their National Immunization Programmes. The visit to the Turks and Caicos is to support the sustainability of elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, rubella, and polio.”

Broome-Troppin said the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the reversal of gains made in childhood immunization in many countries leading to a population of children susceptible to diseases that were eliminated from the Caribbean Sub-region.

“The training of healthcare providers in the TCI on the expanded programme on immunization should reinforce the principles of immunization and vaccine disease surveillance leading to an improved performance of the National Immunization Programme and hence sustain the elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases on the islands,” the PAHO representative stated.

Minister of Health and Human Services, Honourable Shaun Malcolm, expressed his profound thanks and appreciation for such a timely visit and workshop.

He stated that the National Immunization Program is one of the programs within the Ministry of Health which garners much focus and reaffirmed his support to ensure the success of the program.

He also encouraged the Primary Health Care Manager to continue to advocate to parents and guardians, and all residents to have their children immunized in a timely manner.

Childhood vaccines are offered free of cost to all residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands at all government-operated clinics.

Vaccines are safe and effective, and parents and caretakers are encouraged to visit the clinic in their community to check their children’s vaccination status.