The Ministry of Health and Social Development completed a five-day workshop designed to strengthen the Territory’s ability to carry out Macro Social and Economic Analysis (MSEA) and Institutional Assessment (IA).

The workshop was conducted in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and with the support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Ms. Tasha Bertie, underscored the value of the training, stating, “This workshop empowers our public officers to adopt a truly data‑driven approach to planning and service delivery.

Ms. Bertie added, “By building in‑house expertise in macro social and economic analysis we can design programmes that better meet the needs of our people and accelerate national progress. We are grateful to the OECS, CDB, and Kairi Consultants for their support in advancing this important initiative.”

The training was held from May 12 to 16 and was facilitated by Kairi Consultants Ltd. More than two dozen public-sector professionals participated in the four hands-on sessions in which they learned how to collect, interpret and report high-quality socio-economic data that will inform Virgin Islands development policy.

The sessions aimed to build local capacity to carry out Macro Social and Economic Analysis and Institutional Assessment in line with the CDB’s Enhanced Country Poverty Assessment (eCPA) toolkits, promoting national ownership while ensuring the objectivity and integrity of the process.

The training was also designed to promote evidence‑based decision‑making that improves macro‑economic performance and public‑service delivery and ensure national ownership of future assessments while safeguarding methodological rigour and objectivity. Upon completion, attendees will be able to conduct MSEA and IA exercises, analyse relevant data, and produce comprehensive reports that can be integrated into policy planning across government ministries.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development remains committed to strengthening national capacity and promoting evidence-based policy development for the sustained social and economic advancement of the Virgin Islands.