A team of independent and impartial international election observers will arrive in St Helena ahead of the General Election to be held on Wednesday 3 September 2025. 

The Election Observation Mission is made up of seven observers and is organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands and Mediterranean Region (CPA BIMR).  

Three parliamentarians from Isle of Man, Guernsey and Gibraltar are part of the mission, as well as two election experts, and two members of staff from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch (CPA UK). 

In the run up to election day, the election observers will meet election officials, parliamentary candidates and local groups to get an insight into the electoral process and the specific context of the election. If anyone wishes to share their experience of the election, they can contact the Mission on: cpabimr@parliament.uk . 

The election observers will assess the election against international standards, commitments and obligations, as well as domestic laws. This is the second time that international observers have been invited to St Helena. For the last election in 2021, the Mission was carried out virtually due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

At the start of the mission, at 10:00 on Tuesday 26 August 2025, the mission will hold a press conference to introduce the mission and its aims. After election day, there will be a radio broadcast so that initial findings about the election can be shared. This will be on Friday 5 September 2025.

Two months later, a final report will be released with detailed findings and recommendations. It will be publicly available. 

One of the observers, Deputy Chris Blin, says: 

“It’s a real privilege to have been invited to observe the General Election in St Helena. It’s a special opportunity to strengthen the democratic process, encourage openness, support the upholding of international standards and foster public trust in institutions, as well as connecting with the island’s vibrant community. Over the next two weeks, we’re looking forward to learning from people across the island and sharing this important moment together.” 

  Notes to Editors:  

1. This international Election Observation Mission is impartial and independent.
2. CPA UK endorses the Declaration of Principles of International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers.
3. CPA British Islands & Mediterranean Region (BIMR) is one of nine regions of the CPA network and is committed to strengthening democracy and good governance. Its secretariat is based in the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA UK). 
4. Since 2011, CPA BIMR has organised Election Observer Missions (EOM) across six UK Overseas Territories: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands and St Helena. More recently, missions have gone to the Crown Dependencies: Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. CPA UK/BIMR has also overseen Election Assessment Missions (EAM) to the UK General Election in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2024.

6. For further information, please email: cpabimr@parliament.uk
7. Our X handle is @CPA _BIMR  
8. Our hashtag is: #StHelenaEOM

#StHelena #CPA #BIMR

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Every year the UK celebrates National Careers Week (NCW), with this year it being celebrated from Monday 6March through to Saturday 11 March. In recognition of this, for the second year running Career Access St Helena is locally recognising and supporting the event. 

NCW is a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. Itaims to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar so as to help support young people develop awareness and excitement about their future pathways. More information on NCW can be found online via www.nationalcareersweek.com. 

Here on St Helena, Career Access recognises not only the importance of careers guidance to young people but for all persons seeking employment or a change in career, and works to facilitate this for all those who require it.

Window Display

To mark this occasion the general public can view a selection of displays from some organisations that participated in this year’s Careers Fair held on Wednesday 15 February. These can be viewed from the front main window display at the Career Access centre, New Porteous House, Jamestown.

Virtual Careers Fairwww.nationalcareersweek.com will be hosting an online virtual fair in which anyone can engage. You can find out more online through www.ncw2023.co.uk

SHG
7 March 2023

The Emergency Planning section of the Safety, Security and Home Affairs Portfolio recently received funding to launch a Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) project. The project has seen AED’s deployed at a number of key locations around the Island, with more due to be deployed in the coming months.

The funding for this work has been provided by Disaster Management UK, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Airlink, The Royal St Helena Police Service and the Health and Social Care Portfolio.

What is an AED, and when and how are they used?

Defibrillators are devices that send a safe electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat when someone is not conscious and not breathing (i.e. they are in cardiac arrest).

A defibrillator may also be referred to as a DEFIB, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator). Statistics show that if a defibrillator is used on a patient within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, they have a 60-70% chance of making a full recovery. 

The type of AEDs being deployed are designed so that they can be used by anyone, without specialist training. Once turned on they will instruct the user through voice commands on exactly how to use the device safely, for both the patient and the operator.

These particular AEDs will only deliver a lifesaving shock to the patient if it is needed. They can tell if this is the case and will talk the user through what to do, meaning people can use the AEDs with confidence in an emergency situation.

The AEDs will be clearly signposted and will be contained in a bright yellow box which looks similar to the below image.

If you require access to an AED, the code to the cabinet can be requested from the Emergency Control Centre when dialling 999.

Where will they be located?

AEDs have now been placed in the following locations:

District	Location
Half Tree Hollow	Half Tree Hollow Clinic: Outside of main entrance
Francis Plain	The Pavilion Area: In the Green Shed
Level wood	Silver Hill Shop
Blue Hill	Blue Hill Community Centre
Sandy Bay	Bamboo Hedge Shop
Rupert’s	Sea Rescue Building: Outside the main entrance

Pending planning permission approval, in the near future AEDs will also be placed on Customs building in Jamestown and the Royal St Helena post at Longwood.

There are also other AEDs located in Jamestown at the Police HQ reception and at HM Prison.

A short instructional video on what AEDs are, when and how to use them, and where they are located around the Island, will be played on the Sure Promo Channel, and can be found online at

SHG
22 February 2023

The Health and Social Care Portfolio have officially launched the new stop smoking service ‘Smokefree St Helena’, to support those who want to quit smoking.

Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death and illness in the world today, which is why stopping smoking is the best thing you can do your health. Stopping smoking isn’t easy, but it is much easier with the right support.

Smokefree St Helena

Smokefree St Helena provides an evidence based programme of support, with sessions delivered by trained stop smoking practitioners. 

The stop smoking programme is made up of two core components: behavioural support and stop smoking medications. It is through the combination of behavioural support and effective medication that gives smokers the best chance of success at stopping.

We have extended the range of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to clients wishing to quit and will be providing NRT to all clients using Smokefree St Helena.

The programme offered through Smokefree St Helena runs over six-weeks for most clients. The programme provides weekly support sessions, where clients can discuss how they are getting on, difficulties they may be having and receive advice, encouragement and medication from their practitioner.

How to access Smokefree St Helena

• Speak to your health care professional and ask them to make a referral for you to Smokefree St Helena.
• Alternatively, you can refer yourself into the service by contacting us via e-mail through smokefree@sainthelena.gov.sh or by telephone on 25863.   

More information

Smokefree St Helena will be delivered in a number of settings and locations across the Island from January 2023, including in community venues and workplaces,.

The Smokefree St Helena team will be promoting the service to the public across the Island in the coming weeks, via local media and community engagement events.

If you are interested stopping smoking with support from Smokefree St Helena, or you would like more information about the service then please contact us via e-mail through smokefree@sainthelena.gov.sh or by telephone on 25863.

SHG
31 January 2023

In December 2021 Executive Council agreed to extend the Public Health (Prevention of Formidable Diseases) Coronavirus No.2 Regulations 2020 until Thursday, 31 March 2022.    

This week, Executive Council has advised that following further discussions on St Helena’s COVID-19 preventative measures, the Public Health (Prevention of Formidable Diseases) Coronavirus No.2 Regulations 2020 will be extended until Saturday, 30 April 2022. This will allow the Health Services Directorate time to evaluate the current processes for flight operations and quarantine once the Airlink flights between South Africa and St Helena resume from 26 March 2022. St Helena Government (SHG) will use this extension period to ensure we are confident that our existing plans are able to accommodate the fortnightly flights and to identify and/or improve any operational matters that may arise.  

Excluding flights that were specifically chartered for repatriation or medical evacuations, the resumption of flights from 26 March will be the Island’s first commercial flights from South Africa since the regular Airlink service was suspended in March 2020. 

SHG recognises the importance of ensuring that our Island’s response plans are continually reviewed so that we remain committed to preventing community spread.  A review of St Helena’s COVID-19 Preventative Measures and Regulations will take place prior to 30 April 2022 to provide detailed information that will enable persons to make future travel plans. 

Any decisions which change the entry and quarantine arrangements beyond this date will be communicated in a timely manner to the public.

#StHelena #COVID-19

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SHG
22 March 2022

The Statistics Office has today released new estimates of average incomes from full-time employment for the 2020/21 financial year. The estimated median annual before-tax wage rose to £8,880, an increase of 1.5% compared to the previous year when price inflation is taken into account. This is a small increase year-on-year, but average wage levels are still lower than they were in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Chart 1. Median annual gross wages from full-time employment, 2012/13 to 2020/21, in constant 2020/12 prices (i.e. adjusted for price inflation)

The median is the usual measure of average incomes or wages, because it is less sensitive to small numbers of relatively high wage earners in a population than the mean, which is the more common method used in other statistics. A median wage level of £8,880 means that, for 2020/21, half of gross wages from locally-recruited employment were less than £8,880, and half were higher.

The estimates are derived from records maintained by the Income Tax Office using methodology consistent with previous releases. Only incomes from employment above an analysis cut-off (set around the level of a single-person Income Related Benefit) are included; any income from self-employment and investment is excluded. Incomes of persons employed by St Helena Government following international recruitment (known as Technical Cooperation Officers) are not considered typical and so are also excluded from the statistics on incomes.

More detailed statistics on incomes, including the differences between lower and higher paid employees, and between men and women, are available in the latest Statistical Bulletin, found on the St Helena Government website here: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Stats-Bulletin-2022-02-Wages.pdf Detailed data can be accessed in Excel format from the ‘Incomes’ file at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/

#StHelena #Statistics #AverageIncome #Wages #StatsNews

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SHG
2 March 2022

Today, Wednesday 8 September 2021, is International Literacy Day – used to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights.

Prince Andrew School (PAS) celebrated International Literacy Day with a special assembly on the importance of reading. At PAS reading ages are tracked throughout the year; students who made the most progress were rewarded with a £10 book voucher courtesy of the Parent Teacher Association.

Top students were:

Cavendish House	Dutton House
Mia Yon	Christopher Midwinter
Taylan Phillips	Tyrone March
Katelyn Lawrence	Raylisha Piek
Jayden Scipio-O’Dean	Liam George
Jayann Fowler	Scott O’Bey
Cody George	Nate George
Jenkins House	Mundens House
Rachel Newman	Rhiann Joshua
Jodie Thomas	Eureeze Peters-Stevens
Jasmine Gerrish	Emma-Lee Cochran
Santina Stevens	Kalem Henry
Shania Hercules	Taleah Crowie
Calum Fowler	Ben Crowie

Certificates were awarded to last year’s top students in English for effort, achievement and progress, as well as certificates for students who reached their targets for Accelerated Reader.

Head of English, Peggy Osterman, explained:

“On average, reading ages are below where we would like to see them, but students have made great strides in improving their literacy. It was great to celebrate the success of so many, particularly boys who are often not keen on books. We still have a way to go but I’m hopeful reading ages will continue to improve.”

In lessons throughout the day, teachers added literacy-focused activities to stress how important reading is in their subject. Teachers also produced a series of posters about ‘A Book I Love’ to further share their reading and encourage students to do the same. In English lessons, students had the chance to make their own posters, and share books that they have enjoyed. A large display in the corridor provided information for students to explore reading, and see some famous faces who prove that dyslexia is not a barrier to success.

Outside of school, PAS marked International Literacy Day by hosting ‘Thought for the Day’ on Saint FM. Each morning, a different reader shared a passage from a book or poem they enjoyed. Head Teacher Penny Bowers will close the week on Friday with a passage from ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’ by Scott O’Dell.

Head Teacher, Penny Bowers, summed up the day, commenting:

“Having good literacy is the foundation of learning – you need to read confidently to access any area of the curriculum. It’s also important to think critically about what you read, especially when it comes to information and keeping safe on the internet. It’s been good to take the opportunity to communicate this to students; now it’s up to them to take it forward and succeed.”

Island Primary Schools also celebrated International Literacy Day and a full feature of their activities will be published in the next edition of the St Helena Ambassador.

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#StHelena #LiteracyDay #AltogetherBetterForChildren&YoungPeople

SHG

8 September 2021