STATEMENT BY MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
HONOURABLE CARVIN MALONE 
ON
100 DAYS IN OFFICE
13th JUNE 2019

Residents of the Virgin Islands, I am Carvin Malone your Minister for Health and Social Development here with a progress report on the first 100 days in office.

The success of a country is measured by its investment in people. Since assuming office my attention has been focused on a number of initiatives that will improve the quality of life in the Virgin Islands. 

Firstly, improving the delivery of services to the elderly, who I affectionately refer to as ‘golden gems’. We have increased the allocation of funding in this year’s budget to ensure that more seniors can be assisted with their daily care, in the comfort of their own homes.

Plans are also afoot to increase the number of beds available for residential care through a programme of expansion of the Adina Donovan Home for the Elderly to a section of the old Peebles Hospital building.

Another area of high priority is repairing more hurricane-damaged homes. To address this, we have redesigned the Housing Recovery Assistance Programme to optimise the use of available funding to assist a maximum number of families to carry out essential home repairs.

My Ministry has also treated the pledge of a clean and green Virgin Islands with urgency, by taking on challenging issues surrounding waste and debris management. Some noteworthy initiatives in this area include the crafting of a revised Waste Management Strategy; making arrangements for the restoration of the Cox Heath debris management site and the exportation of remaining derelict vehicles and other scrap metals; awarding of contracts for immediate repairs to the incinerator plant; and signing an MOU with Green VI to work with the community to scale up waste reduction and recycling throughout the Territory.

Improving the delivery of health services also remains high on the agenda as demonstrated through the recent refurbishment of the Imaging Suite at the Hospital, which now boasts the only digital mammography machine in the Territory, together with

a CT Scanner, MRI, General Radiology and Ultrasound imaging capabilities.  A comprehensive review of the National Health Insurance System is also underway to ensure that the goal of universal access to healthcare can be achieved in a fair and sustainable manner.

Looking ahead, we continue to rebuild the health and social infrastructure through ongoing repairs to clinics, community centres and other critical facilities; and look forward to the handover of the new Nurse Iris O’Neal Medical Centre within the coming weeks.

These important projects, underpinned by a robust policy agenda that promotes inclusiveness and investment in people as our greatest resource, will set the Virgin Islands on a brighter path.

Progress will not be met without challenges but together, the Government of the Virgin Islands remains committed to restoring hope and prosperity to all, while promoting a greener, healthier and safer Virgin Islands.

I Thank you.