MINISTRY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT HOSTS COVID-19 VACCINE EDUCATION SESSION; STAFF VACCINATED

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 01, 2021 (SKNIS): The Ministry of Sustainable Development hosted a COVID-19 vaccine education session on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at the Department of Statistics where several staff members were vaccinated.

The session was conducted by the National HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator and Health Educator, Dr. Mathias Afortu-Ofre. A Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic was staged at the Department’s boardroom immediately after the information session. 

Elretha Simpson-Browne, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sustainable Development, was among one of the first to take the vaccine. She expressed thanks to Dr. Ofre for a job well done and noted that the session was timely and that it was important for staff to get vaccinated and lead by example.

“The Ministry of Sustainable Development is the ministry that is mandated by the government to ensure that we are able to exist and thrive as a people in this environment and at the same time preserve it for future generations which means that we deal with sustainability, so we have to show an example,” said PS Simpson Browne, during an interview with the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS).

PS Simpson-Browne highlighted several reasons why the staff of the Ministry of Sustainable Development should be vaccinated, one of them being that the staff of the Ministry will be involved in conducting the country’s Population and Housing Census later in 2021.

“This will cause us to interact with persons in our community. We will be going into homes, talking to the smallest in the house and the eldest. It means then that we have to be vaccinated not only to protect ourselves but to protect the persons with whom we will be interacting,” she said. “We offer a variety of services some of which require face to face contact, as well as site visits.”

The Ministry of Sustainable Development comprises five departments including Land and Surveys, Physical Planning, Statistics, Economic Affairs and PSIP, as well as Administration. Prior to the session, several staff members especially at Physical Planning were vaccinated.

Mrs. Simpson-Browne applauded all who have been vaccinated and encouraged those who are yet to be vaccinated to do so for the safety of their families, friends, colleagues, and themselves. She added that “the sooner all of us are able to do this [get vaccinated] the sooner we can open back up our country to economic activity.” -30-