NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The national preparedness and response plan required by the government’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Management Bill, 2021, would be able to program government spending over a period of years, said Attorney General Carl Bethel.
Bethel was responding to questions from the media after the prime minister tabled the new bill in Parliament on Wednesday.
The legislation, which is open for public consultation, would put in place a statutory framework to mitigate public health emergencies.
The bill also provides for the government to ensure a national preparedness and response plan is published within six months of the date of commencement of the act and to be renewed and updated annually.
“What COVID-19 has shown us is that the unexpected can hit you at a moment’s notice in a devastating way,” Bethel said.
“So, it is obvious that we need to have a more nuanced approach going forward, where we develop plans to deal with what everybody says is more likely to occur in the future.
“The development of new pandemics, new strains or variants or even new diseases, that is the reality of where the world has moved. So, it is necessary to plan with these things in mind.”
The attorney general noted that this development would involve the upgrade of the primary and secondary healthcare services throughout the country and necessary redevelopment and expansion on Family Islands.
“All of these things would be factored into a national plan so that we would be able to program spending over a period of years and not just in one budget year,” he said.
The national plan would include preventative plans; preparedness plans and mitigation; and response and implementation plans.
According to the bill, the plan would be implemented once a threat to the public is health is posed or a public health emergency is declared.
The Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Management Bill, 2021, empowers the minister of health to declare a public emergency through a gazetted notice after advice from the chief medical officer and the prime minister.
A public health emergency declaration would last for three months, with the possibility of extensions, but must be tabled in Parliament within 21 days.
Parliamentarians would be able to revoke the declaration by resolution at any time.
