On Wednesday the 19 th and Thursday the 20 th of June 2024, Care & Youth Caribbean Netherlands
(ZJCN) organised the first Future of Healthcare in the Caribbean Netherlands conference. The
conference, which was followed both live on Bonaire and online, brought together chain
partners and stakeholders in order to discuss the unique healthcare challenges and
opportunities in the Caribbean Netherlands. Several experts shared their insights on topics like
equivalent healthcare, the future of the healthcare system, and digitalisation. Workshops and
field trips to healthcare institutions were also organised to discuss and improve the quality and
accessibility of care.
The conference took place following the final report The Caribbean Netherlands – Health System
Review, conducted by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. The report offers a
detailed overview of the current state of healthcare in the Caribbean Netherlands, the results achieved
since 2010, and the necessary improvements to lift the healthcare to the level of the European
Netherlands. The report can be found here.
By organising the healthcare conference, ZJCN brings together chain partners and stakeholders in order
to discuss opportunities and challenges in healthcare. The Caribbean Netherlands faces unique
healthcare challenges. The island nature, in addition to actual backlogs in healthcare, entails specific
needs and vulnerabilities. Moreover, health issues, health literacy, perception, and expectations of
healthcare differ from those in the European Netherlands.
Attendees
The conference brought together various experts to share their insights on topics like equivalent
healthcare, the future of the healthcare system, and digitalisation. They jointly discussed how to ensure
the quality and accessibility of healthcare in a sustainable way. Among the speakers were Tie Tjee,
Senior Adviser Strategic Network Leadership, and Jamiu Busari, paediatrician at Horacio Oduber
Hospital, professor at Ontario Tech University in Canada, and associate professor at Maastricht
University in the Netherlands. Commissioners Nina Den Heyer (Bonaire), Reuben Merkman (St.
Eustatius), and Eviton Heyliger (Saba) were also present and shared their valuable experiences and
insights.
Workshops
Besides the inspiring speakers, several workshops were held, including The Future of Healthcare,
Digitalisation and The Health Systems in Transition (HiT). During the HiT workshops, Ewout van
Ginneken and Nathan Shuftan explained the findings of the final report in detail. In addition, field trips
were organised to various healthcare institutions on Bonaire, including the hospital Fundashon Mariadal.
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Cooperation & equivalence important themes
An important conclusion is that cooperation between the islands and with chain partners represents an
essential element to continue improving healthcare together. Equivalence was also a recurring theme.
Among other things, it was discussed whether healthcare in the Caribbean Netherlands should be
equivalent to that of the European Netherlands. On this, one participant said the following: We should
not focus on equivalence compared to the European Netherlands but strive for the best possible
healthcare for our islands.
With a fine turnout that included a broad representation of chain partners from the Caribbean
Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, and St. Maarten, together we look back at a successful first edition.