Health & Education

While Trinidad and Tobago’s health care system has displayed strong results when dealing with existing communicable diseases, such as HIV and Zika, work is still urgently needed to develop a long-term strategy to deal with rising non-communicable diseases in the nation. The switch to a national health care insurance system – with increased focus on portability of services, record-keeping and primary care – combined with an expanded role for cost-efficient private sector clinics and surgeries, would provide a strong foundation on which to build health care policy for the future. Meanwhile in education, following years of high oil revenues, a generous system of grants for students studying a wide range of subjects has developed. However, the economic downturn has focused minds on achieving improved performance with slimmer budgets. Tighter restrictions on funding provided by the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses programme will help cut the fat on the tertiary education system, and the involvement of the private sector should help funnel students towards programmes that are a better fit for the development of the economy long term.

This chapter contains an interview with Brian Copeland, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, The University of the West Indies.