Nearly eighty public health leaders, technical experts and stakeholders from the Caribbean and Taiwan participated in a recently-held seminar to exchange practical experiences and policy strategies in combating chronic metabolic diseases, and review digital health integration and preliminary data findings, such as the i-Screen initiative.
Titled “Seminar on Chronic Disease Management and Digital Health Opportunities: From Local Practice to Regional Cooperation”, the all-day event was held on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at Harbor Club in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet.
The event focused on the achievements made under the “Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Metabolic Chronic Diseases in Saint Lucia”, a collaborative bilateral initiative between the TaiwanICDF/Taiwan Technical Mission, the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition in Saint Lucia, and the Cathay General Hospital in Taiwan. The project aims to strengthen Saint Lucia’s primary healthcare delivery framework for early detection, effective intervention, and continuous management of metabolic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes and hypertension.
During the opening ceremony, H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, remarked that the event was not just about disease management or digital tools, but also a celebration of a shared journey, close partnership, and common vision for a healthier future.
“Taiwan and Saint Lucia share a deep-rooted partnership built on action, shared values, and a dedicated commitment on the well-being of our peoples,” she said. “Further, our public health cooperation focuses on empowering healthcare workers via digital transformation. This spirit of partnership was unreservedly demonstrated during the Global Health and Welfare Forum hosted in Taipei, Taiwan, in October, where our partners not only from Saint Lucia, but also from other allied and like-minded friends, also joined.”
Ambassador Su explained that during that Forum in Taiwan, participating countries jointly issued the Ministerial Declaration, reaffirming a commitment to building trust-based digital health governance, ensuring equitable health access, and fostering resilient and people-centred health systems together. She noted that the joint NCD project, under which the i-Screen App was introduced, was based on that commitment. With the digital tool, she said, the hope is to lift the burden of frontline health workers having to manually document patient records.
Hon. Moses Jn. Baptiste, Minister of Health, Wellness and Nutrition, said the seminar was another opportunity to build partnerships and find ways to close the gap related to digital health. He said that while efforts to improve prevention, detection and management of chronic diseases through stronger health services continue, effective partnerships can help deliver results more effectively.
“I want to thank TaiwanICDF, Taiwan Technical Mission, and Cathay General Hospital, for this partnership over the past three and a half years,” he said. “This partnership brought us results in the Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Metabolic Chronic Diseases here in Saint Lucia.”
He added: “When you get results like this: within three years you develop an app collaboratively with the experts from Taiwan and those from the Ministry of Health in Saint Lucia, and at this point, you can reach 22,000 people, when you can set goals and actually measure your results — this brings me joy. I want to thank our partners from Taiwan for this collaboration.”
Hon. Jn. Baptiste noted that thirty health centres and the Saint Lucia Health Information System (SLUHIS) have been connected to the i-Screen App so far. He underscored the fact that the digital world is interconnected in so many ways that one cannot escape the reality of digital health.
Meanwhile, Mr. Stephen Lee, Deputy Secretary General of TaiwanICDF, said non-communicable diseases remain a major global public health challenge, adding that PAHO’s Action Plan emphasizes disease prevention, stronger primary healthcare, and improved NCD management. He also said digital health offers a new opportunity to advance that opportunity and deliver more accessible, efficient and people-centred care.
“In line with the global priorities, TaiwanICDF, in partnership with Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition, and Cathay General Hospital, launched a capacity-building project for the prevention and control of metabolic chronic diseases in 2023,” Mr. Lee said.
The seminar’s agenda consisted of six sessions and one panel discussion. In Session One, Dr. Li-Chi Huang, Chief of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism Division of Cathay General Hospital in Taiwan, presented on “Leveraging Digital Health and Integrated Community Care for NCD Control – Lessons from Taiwan”. Session Two featured Mr. Kevin Harris, Systems Analyst from the Health Management Information Unit in the Ministry of Health in Saint Lucia, who presented on “Digital Health Integration in Saint Lucia”. In Session Three, Dr. Che-Yi Su, Deputy Director of International Medical Service Centre, Cathay General Hospital, Taiwan, presented on “Digitalizing Community NCD Screening – Preliminary i-Screen Data Findings from the TaiwanICDF NCD Project”.
In Session Four, Dr. Jashika Williams, Medical Officer of Health (Ag.) in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Environmental Health and Energy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, presented on “Advancing NCD Prevention in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Progress, Lessons Learnt and Future Digital Health Opportunities”. Session Five featured a virtual presentation by Dr. Tivon Browne, District Medical Officer for the Nevis Island Administration, on the topic, “Tackling Non-Communicable Diseases in Saint Kitts and Nevis: Primary Care, Prevention and Digital Health”. In Session Six, Dr. Yu-Sen Peng, Vice-President of the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, presented on “NCD Prevention Strategies and Experience Sharing in Belize”.
Organizers hope that the discussions that were raised at the seminar will translate into sustained partnerships, deeper regional cooperation and a consensus to work collectively towards more accessible, responsive and resilient health systems.