25 COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDES WERE PRAISD FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN REACHING THE TARGET NUMBER OF SCREENINGS...
Wednesday, July 1, 2026) – Community Health Aides (CHAs) from across the nine health regions in Saint Lucia were recognized at a special ceremony recently for reaching a major milestone in the prevention and control of metabolic chronic diseases.
During the recognition ceremony held on Thursday, June 25, 2026 in the Dolphin Conference Room at Bay Gardens Beach Resort in Rodney Bay, 25 Community Health Aides were praised for their efforts in reaching the target of screening 20,000 people across Saint Lucia using the i-Screen app.
Launched in Saint Lucia in October 2023, the i-Screen app is a digital tool designed to facilitate health screenings at various community and outreach activities as part of the “Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Metabolic Chronic Diseases”, a four-year project that was launched in March 2023.
Developed by Saint Lucia’s Health Information Unit in collaboration with the Information Technology team at Cathay General Hospital in Taiwan, the i-Screen app aims to improve capacity by screening for diseases prevention and early diagnosis, which can lead to better management of health outcomes. The innovative app also streamlines data collection, thereby easing the workflow for staff at the island’s wellness centres.
Speaking at the recognition ceremony, H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, praised the Community Health Aides for their remarkable efforts and impressive achievements.
“You are the frontline heroes who walk into the communities, raise awareness, and change lives of the people in the communities every day,” she said. “You are the most valuable partner to make this project a real success, and you are the important pillar of community healthcare system. I’d also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the colleagues and team at the Ministry of Health for your guidance for this Project. Your support is what made our partnership possible.”
Ambassador Su noted that since 2023, the project has been encouraging people to have regular health checks, including blood pressure and sugar level. She said thousands of people have been monitoring their relevant indices on regular basis, many of them trying out fitness classes and adopting a diabetes-friendly healthy diet. She added that the i-Screen app is now being used in 30 health centres in Saint Lucia.
“The i-Screen system is now linked with your National Health Information System (SLUHIS),” said Ambassador Su. “We are hoping that, through the i-Screen System, the information you’ve been registering could further provide the smooth transmission of record into the SLUHIS, and to provide digitalized health service to the people of Saint Lucia.”
She added: “Today, we are here to proudly recognize your commitment to healthcare work. We appreciate you for your contribution which marks an important milestone for this project, and further makes a life-saving difference for the people of Saint Lucia. Let’s continue working together to ensure an even healthier Saint Lucia.”
Hon. Moses Jn. Baptiste, Minister for Health, Wellness and Nutrition, thanked the Government and people of Taiwan for continuing to make a meaningful contribution to Saint Lucia’s health sector. He also praised the Community Health Aides for making the project a success.
“This is yet another example of the partnership that exists between the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition and our friends at the Taiwan Embassy,” Hon. Jn. Baptiste explained. “We have done a lot of work together, and the work we have done is not just theoretical work. That work continues to benefit the people.”
Hon. Jn. Baptiste noted that Government always stresses its policy of “putting people first”, including engaging agencies and friendly governments and friends in partnerships that are beneficial to both sides, and from which the people benefit. He said non-communicable diseases and the accompanying statistics are becoming well-known to many Saint Lucians.
“We know that this is the biggest challenge we have, and we are very pleased that the Government and people of Taiwan continue to assist us in that regard,” he stated.
Hon. Jn. Baptiste said the i-Screen app has boosted the Capacity Building Project by improving the efficiency of screening and data collection outside of wellness facilities. Further, the app has created a platform which allows for primary and secondary screening of information to be collected and integrated into the national health management information system.
“This additional avenue for data collection has created and strengthened the pathway for continuity of care for more Saint Lucians. This digital upgrade will go a long way to improving decision-making in the clinical setting, as well as the policy level,” he explained.
Hon. Jn. Baptiste added: “More and more, we will have to integrate even more closely or deeper with information technology to do our work. Information technology in medicine is not only at the level of the front office operations, but that is not the case. Our hospitals are working feverishly to achieve that. But it’s really about how we become efficient with service to the people and information technology is the way to go.”
Mrs. Julietta Cassius, Principal Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition, explained that when the chronic metabolic disease project was first conceptualized, the target for screening 20,000 people within the four health regions in a four-year period seemed exceedingly high.
“At the start, the numbers being screened was dwindling,” she admitted. “At that point, the Department decided to complement the existing health aide workforce by recruiting an additional 20 health aides across all regions to expand the outreach capacity for screenings, not only to meet the target, but more importantly, to reach the underserved populations, identifying persons at risk for diabetes, hypertension and obesity and bringing them into care.”
Through the partnership with the International Cooperation Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), she said local healthcare officials have made significant progress in strengthening capacity by delivering training programmes to primary care professionals and community health workers, enhancing clinical skills, optimizing clinical processes through the development of tools, and procuring medical equipment, thereby improving the quality of care to clients and improving overall health outcomes.
“While we celebrate each CHA’s success, we also celebrate the success of the cooperation and partnership between the Ministry of Health and the TaiwanICDF programme in their commitment to improving the health and well-being of the population,” Mrs. Cassius said. “Today, we single out the community health aides who devoutly demonstrated compassion and dedication to the success of the project. Your efforts have undoubtedly created a foundation for the identification of at-risk and high-risk persons in the prevention and management of metabolic diseases within all communities.”
Mrs. Cassius also highlighted the hard work and determination of the TaiwanICDF coordinators, trainers, seed instructors, supervisors and all other health professionals for their unwavering leadership and contribution towards the accomplishments and successes of the project.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jessica Wu, Project Manager at the Taiwan Technical Mission, said Community Health Aides are fundamental to community health. She noted that despite the goal of screening 20,000 people being reached nearly two weeks ago, a lot more progress can be achieved in the remaining eight months of the project.
“If everyone goes the extra mile, we can have good outcomes, which can assist the country. We’re going to analyze the data which will give the Government an idea as to what the situation is on the ground.”
Based on information collected, Region 5 recorded the highest volume of screening with 39.1%, followed by Region 6 at 24%, and Region 7 at 16.7%. Top performing Community Health Aides were Ema Simeon of Region 5, who performed 1,056 screenings, followed by Brenda Felix from Region 5 with 949 screenings, and Noella Leonty from Region 6 with 929 screenings. They received special trophies. However, like twenty-three other Community Health Aides, they received gift vouchers, certificates and a backpack containing a blood pressure monitor, height measuring scale, waist measuring tape, and body weight scale.
(ENDS)