ON Wednesday, August 30, 2023, a small team from the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs met for a sensitization meeting with Dr. Kim Newton-James, who has been hired as the National Professional Consultant for St Lucia for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Caribbean Readiness Project: “Enhancing Climate Change Resilience of Health Systems in Seven CARICOM States”.
A survey conducted in 2018 revealed that several Caribbean countries lacked national health and climate change plans or strategies. Countries had varying degrees of involvement of the health sector in national climate change committees, as well as distinct capacities to integrate health concerns into national plans and strategies.
Some countries had established, but non-operational , national health and climate change committees while others lacked such committees entirely, hindering the alignment of health issues with national climate agendas.
In 2019 the Caribbean Action Plan on Health and Climate Change was approved by ministries of health, environment and climate change. The plan is tailored to the region’s priorities and capacities and aims to address identified gaps and strengthen the health system against climate-induced threats. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Caribbean Readiness Project “Enhancing climate change resilience of health systems in seven CARICOM States”, will support the implementation of the Action Plan.
An Environmental Toxicologist by profession, Dr. Newton-James’ consultancy will involve assisting with the strengthening of inter-ministerial committees on climate change and health; and conducting assessments to identify gaps and resource needs for the prioritization of health in the climate change strategies.
The recently finalized Health National Adaptation Plan (HNAP) will be the guiding document of the consultancy.
The GCF project aims to strengthen institutional and technical capacities and increase collaboration with other sectors to identify, prioritize, prepare and implement adaptation and mitigation options, generate relevant evidence, and improve frameworks to reduce emissions and increase health system’s climate resilience. One of the expected outcomes of this project is for
relevant country stakeholders to establish adequate capacity, systems and networks to support the planning, programming and implementation of GCF-funded activities.
The other CARICOM countries participating in the GCF Caribbean Readiness Project include Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.