Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – 18 March 2026: The Ministry of Health and Human Services, through its Primary Health Care Department and the Aged Care and Rehabilitation Department, is reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the health and wellbeing of residents across the life course, with renewed focus on adolescents and older persons.
With the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Ministry is currently drafting a National Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Policy and a National Healthy Aging Policy to better address the evolving needs of these important population groups.
Adolescents and older adults represent critical stages of life. Supporting individuals during these periods helps shape the overall health and resilience of communities. By investing in health promotion, disease prevention, and supportive services for both adolescents and older adults, the Ministry aims to build a stronger, healthier, and more resilient society.
As part of the policy development process, the Ministry recently hosted multi-stakeholder workshops and technical working group sessions in Providenciales and Grand Turk to advance the drafting of the policies. These sessions brought together an enthusiastic and committed group of stakeholders representing the health, education, sports, policing, judiciary, labour, and social sectors, as well as civil society and faith-based organizations. Members of Parliament also participated in the discussions.
Importantly, adolescents and older persons, the key stakeholders and intended beneficiaries of these policies, were well represented during the consultations, ensuring that their voices and perspectives were incorporated into the policy development process.
The objectives of the workshops and technical working group sessions were to:
- Confirm the vision, mission, goals, strategic objectives, and priority actions for each policy
- Identify governance, financing, human resources, and multisectoral coordination arrangements required for effective implementation
- Validate indicators, targets, and monitoring and evaluation approaches aligned with regional standards
- Develop clear next steps, including a draft implementation roadmap and assigned responsibilities for follow-up
Commenting on the initiative, the Minister of Health and Human Services, Honourable Kyle Knowles stated that “the development of these policies reflects the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring that our health system responds to the needs of individuals at every stage of life. By focusing on adolescents and older persons, we are strengthening the foundation for healthier communities today and for generations to come”.
Once the draft policies are completed, the Ministry will host public consultation sessions to gather broader feedback and strengthen national support for their implementation. Through these consultations, the Ministry aims to ensure that the policies reflect the voices, experiences, and priorities of the adolescents and older persons they are designed to serve.
The Ministry also wishes to publicly express its sincere thanks to the PAHO Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Office for their continued partnership and support in strengthening the health sector in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as Dr Carmetta Doughlin, PAHO Consultant, who facilitated the consultations.
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