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Geographical Locations - St Vincent
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National Policy and Related Documents
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines HIV/AIDS/STI National Strategic Plan, 2004-2009
"St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) like the rest of the world has not been exempted from the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The government’s response has been swift, recognizing the fact that this epidemic has serious developmental implications if left unchallenged. The HIV epidemic is driven by a number of factors including cultural, behavioural and socio-economic. The importance of the involvement of the entire nation to prevent HIV and care for persons affected and infected by HIV/AIDS cannot be over emphasized since no one person, ministry or organization can reach and solve the problems of the nation. A strategic plan is a necessary tool to guide all stakeholders and create a synergistic approach instead of duplicated efforts.”
- Strategic Health Plan 2007-2012: St Vincent & the Grenadines
"The goal of this National Strategic Health Plan 2007-2012 is to improve the health status of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This can be achieved through the development of an efficient, equitable, effective and sustainable quality oriented health system that seeks to enable people to live richer, healthier and more productive lives. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made noteworthy achievements in the health status of its population over the past twenty years. The Infant Mortality Rate is now 18.1 per 1000 live births, Immunization against selected childhood diseases is 100%, the Fertility Rate now stands at 2.4 and the average Life expectancy rate is 74.4. Notwithstanding these, the challenges faced by the lifestyle diseases including Non-communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS, place considerable cost burdens on individuals, families and communities, necessitating critical decision-making.” [Ministry of Health and the Environment, May 2007]
Reports, Guidelines, and Projects
- A study of child vulnerability in Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines
"The Child Vulnerability Study was conducted during 2005 by the Governments of Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines with technical and financial assistance from UNICEF. Its aim was to enable the three countries to fulfil their obligations to children in terms of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other international and regional instruments. The Governments agreed that the study should be carried out concurrently in the three countries to allow valid comparisons… The study was designed to find out: (i) what constitutes child vulnerability in the participating countries? (ii) how many children fit this definition? (iii) what is their demographic profile? (iv) what are their physical and psychological needs? (v) what are the barriers to satisfying their needs and protecting their rights? and (vi) what measures are needed to overcome these barriers?... It is intended to serve as: (a) a planning tool to reassess national policy and develop national plans of action for vulnerable children; (b) • a communications tool to build awareness, advocate for action and mobilize human and financial resources; and (c) a baseline study against which the impact of any interventions can be assessed." [UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, in association with the Governments of Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines, 2006]
- Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates from Three Caribbean Countries: Trinidad, Guyana, and St. Vincent
Background: The percentage of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates resistant to antimicrobial agents commonly used for treatment is unknown in many Caribbean countries. Goal: To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of N gonorrhoeae isolates from Trinidad (144 isolates), Guyana (70 isolates), and St. Vincent (68 isolates) so baseline data can be established for further studies, and to assist in establishing effective treatment guidelines. Study Design: Consecutive urethral and endocervical specimens from several clinics were collected and identified as N gonorrhoeae. Isolates of N gonorrhoeae were tested for their susceptibility to penicillin, tetracycline, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin, and azithromycin. The presumptive identification of penicillinase-producing N gonorrhoeae and/or tetracycline-resistant N gonorrhoeae isolates based on MIC was confirmed by plasmid and tetM content analysis. Results: High percentages of penicillin and/or tetracycline resistance were observed in N gonorrhoeae isolates from Guyana (92.9%), St. Vincent (44.1%), and Trinidad (42.4%). Isolates from all three countries were susceptible to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and spectinomycin. One penicillinase-producing N gonorrhoeae/tetracycline-resistant N gonorrhoeae from Guyana had an MIC of 0.5 μg/l to ciprofloxacin. This and nine other isolates from Guyana also were resistant to azithromycin (defined as MIC > 2.0 μg/ml) as well as penicillin and tetracycline. A reduced susceptibility to azithromycin was displayed by 16% of the isolates from St. Vincent and 72% of the isolates from Guyana (MIC, 0.25–1.0 μg/ml). Most penicillinase-producing N gonorrhoeae isolates carried Africa-type plasmids (61/90), with 28 of 90 having Toronto-type plasmids and a single isolate carrying an Asia-type plasmid. The tetM determinant in tetracycline-resistant N gonorrhoeae isolates was predominantly of the Dutch type (68/91). Conclusions: The high prevalence of N gonorrhoeae isolates from 3 of 21 English- and Dutch-speaking Caricom countries in the Caribbean with either plasmid-mediated or chromosomal resistance to penicillin and tetracycline supports international observations that these drugs should not be used to treat gonococcal infections. The detection of isolates with reduced susceptibility to drugs such as azithromycin, which currently are recommended for treatment in the region, attest to the importance of the continued monitoring of gonococcal antimicrobial susceptibility for the maintenance of effective treatment guidelines. [author abstract] [Sexually Transmitted Diseases, September 2001, Vol. 28, No. 9, pp.508-514]
- Health in the Americas 2007: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
As a health agency, the Pan American Health Organization's core discipline is epidemiology, which enables the measurement, definition, and comparison of health problems and conditions and their distribution from the perspectives of population, geography, and time. This publication on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines addresses the issue of health as a human right, taking into account both the individual and community contexts, and examines various critical determinants of health, including those of a biological, social, cultural, economic, and political nature. That examination reveals the existence of gaps, disparities, and inequities that persist in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, especially those related to access to basic services, health, nutrition, housing, and adequate living conditions as well as to the lack of opportunities for human development—all of which contribute to the greater vulnerability to diseases and health risks of some population groups. [Adapted from the preface of Health in the Americas 2007]
- Periodontal Health Status of School Children in St. Vincent and The Grenadines
A national oral heath survey of school children was conducted in October through November 1991. The objective was to determine the periodontal status of school children in St. Vincent and The Grenadines (SVG), the pattern and severity of periodontal disease, estimate treatment needs and provide information for health planners. The study had a cross-sectional design, and 1646 schoolchildren representing all school districts were selected via multistage, systematic sampling. Examinations were conducted by three examiners using CPITN probe. Periodontal indicators and treatment needs were determined using the CPITN index. Calculus was the most prevalent condition with values ranging from 26 to 83 percent, bleeding was the least prevalent condition, while children with healthy indicator were intermediate in prevalence. Subjects with healthy indicators ranged from a low of 12 percent among 15-19 year olds, to a high of 51 percent among seven-year-olds. The mean number of healthy sextants varied from three to five, and mean number of sextants with bleeding or calculus varied from one to three. Oral hygiene instruction (OHI) was the most common treatment need, ranging from 49 to 88 percent. The need for prophylaxis was associated with increase in age, with the highest prohylaxis [sic] treatment needs of 83 percent, among 15-19 year olds. No significant differences were observed in periodontal status between gender, and also between urban and rural children. A high prevalence of calculus and bleeding was observed among SVG school children. Study recommends initiation of primary prevention programs in form of health promotion and health education. [publication summary] [Odonto-Stomatologie Tropicale 1999 - N°88]
- UNGASS Country Progress Report, 2010 – St. Vincent and the Grenadines
"The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues with great political will to prevent and control the spread of HIV/AIDS within its Nation. The local fight against HIV/AIDS is undertaken by both the public sector, the Ministry of Health and the Environment which is guided primarily by the National AIDS Secretariat and the private sector, namely Civil Society Organizations, Faith Based Organizations and Non-governmental Organizations… The spread of HIV has slowly begun to decrease since the upscale of the HIV/AIDS prevention and control programme in 2004 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines… [O]ver the last two years (2008 and 2009), the HIV incidence has continued its general decrease in trend. The rigorous care and treatment programme has enabled that AIDS is no longer synonymous with death. The number of deaths attributable to AIDS has decreased significantly over this period by 32% (68 deaths in 2006-2007 and 46 deaths in 2008-2009), therefore allowing the number of persons with HIV to experience a longer survival time." [UNAIDS, 2010]
- WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health System in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
"The World Health Organization’s Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) was used to collect information and structure the report on the mental health system in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The overall goal of this process is to provide an objective assessment of the system on 6 domains: policy and legislative framework; mental health services; mental health in primary health care; human resources; public education and links with other sectors; and monitoring and research. [In St Vincent and the Grenadines] there is no mental health policy; there is a draft mental health plan (2002). The Mental Health Act was legislated in 1989 and amended in 1991. The primary source of mental health financing is tax-based. In 2007, approximately 5% of the national health expenditure was directed towards the 160-bed Mental Health Center, the sole mental health hospital and the entity responsible for delivery of mental health services. One hundred percent of the population has free access to at least one psychotropic medication of each therapeutic category (anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, mood stabilizer, anxiolytic, and antiepileptic). Primary health care physicians are allowed to prescribe or continue use of psychotropic medicines. No human rights policy or human rights review body exists. None of the mental health treatment facilities ever had an external review/inspection of human rights protection of patients with mental disorders and no mental health worker received training in this area… Mental health care is not integrated with primary health care. Community-based mental health services are delivered by staff from the Center through scheduled clinics in five locations and home visits. There are no specialist services for children and adolescents with mental disorders. The majority of users treated in the outpatient setting were diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders. No psycho-social intervention is available in the outpatient setting. There are no day treatment facilities, community-based psychiatric inpatient unit, or community residential facilities for person with mental disorders." [WHO and the Ministry of Health, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 2009]
Educational Resources
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