The Minister for Health and Social Care, Martin Henry, and the Chief Medical Officer, Peter Moss, will depart St Helena on Saturday 31 January 2026 to undertake an official visit to Montserrat, returning to the island on Saturday, 14 February 2026. The visit forms part of a reciprocal health systems exchange between the Governments of St Helena and Montserrat, supported and facilitated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Purpose of the visit
The central purpose of the visit is to deepen mutual understanding of how two small UK Overseas Territories with aid dependent health systems organise and govern health and public health services while recognising the different contexts in which they operate. Both St Helena and Montserrat have similar constitutional responsibilities for Health and Social Care and rely on a mix of on island primary and some secondary care, complemented by off-island referral arrangements for advance treatment.
The programme will focus on:
- Comparing health governance frameworks, including how each government uses health legislation, ordinances and regulations to balance local priorities, standards of care and expectations.
- Exploring approaches to health financing, the use of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the role of UK support in sustaining essential services and investing in public health infrastructure.
- Sharing experience on strengthening community-based care and safeguarding, managing off island referrals, links to the UK , and building resilient public health surveillance systems and sustainable workforces in very small health systems.
Minister for Education, Skills and Employment, Andrew Turner, will be the point of contact in Minister Henry’s absence and can be contacted via email at andrew.turner@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Photo
Minister Martin Henry
Chief Medical Officer, Peter Moss
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