SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Judith Tielen, Dutch State Secretary for Youth, Prevention, and Sports, is visiting Bonaire, Sint Maarten, and Curaçao this week for working visits, meetings, and the Special Olympic Kingdom Games.
On Bonaire (19 November), the focus will be on healthcare in the entire Caribbean Netherlands. Special attention will be given to women and youth during visits to, among others, Fundashon Mariadal Hospital, the RIVM team for population screening, general practitioners, youth care services, and the Youth Work Foundation Jong Bonaire.
On Sint Maarten (November 20 and 21), Tielen will participate in the Four-Country Public Health Consultation of the Kingdom. The discussions will include improving cooperation in the field of mandatory mental health care.
On Curaçao (21 and 22 November), the Special Olympic Kingdom Games, the sports tournament for people with intellectual disabilities from all parts of the Kingdom, will officially open on Friday, 21 November.
Working together with Caribbean colleagues
State Secretary Tielen said: “In recent years, I have felt a strong connection to healthcare in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom; now, as a government official, I can actually work together with several Caribbean colleagues.
For example, we already joined forces on the topic of women’s health during the UN General Assembly in New York last September, and we are collaborating in practical ways on arranging outdoor play areas on Saba and Statia.
Everywhere I go, I highlight the fact that women live fewer years in good health than men and I will also address this during my visit to the Caribbean Netherlands. I look forward to exploring with all Caribbean colleagues how we can reduce health inequalities between men and women. Because moving forward in life begins with good health: physical, mental, and social. When women fall behind in this, it affects not only them but also the society and economy of the Caribbean Netherlands.”
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