Escalating healthcare costs and lifestyle-related illness were top concerns among Caribbean health officials at a Washington, DC conference earlier this month, Health Minister Jeanne Atherden told MPs.

Ms Atherden briefed Parliament on her participation at a July 7 and 8 meeting of regional UK Overseas Territories ministers arranged by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

It was the first such meeting for Caribbean health ministers since 2008, she said. Representatives from Public Health England and the British Embassy in Washington also attended.

The Minister met with PAHO director Carissa Etienne to discuss the organisation’s ability to acquire medications at “significantly lower costs”, which it shares through a strategic fund. The list of drugs is being expanded, she said, and will be shared with both the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Department of Health.