During the 2024–2025 biennium, PAHO made a substantive contribution to strengthening health governance and stewardship in Saint Kitts and Nevis by supporting the application of the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF) assessment and translating its findings into strategic reforms. Through direct technical cooperation, PAHO supported national authorities to complete the EPHF assessment, providing an evidence-based diagnosis of gaps in governance, stewardship, and system performance gaps. This process directly informed the development of a new national strategic plan for health, strengthening the country’s capacity to set priorities, align resources, and guide system-wide action toward health for all. In parallel, PAHO reinforced health workforce governance by providing targeted technical assistance on human resources for health planning and forecasting, and by supporting the establishment of a centralized electronic health workforce database. This enabled improved availability, quality, and use of workforce data for policy dialogue, monitoring, and investment decisions.  

Together, these results strengthened institutional leadership, accountability, and system intelligence, creating a more robust enabling environment for access to quality health services for all. By reinforcing core governance functions and strategic planning capacity, PAHO’s cooperation contributes to longer-term health outcomes by improving system coherence, efficiency, and responsiveness to population needs across the life course.