 During the year 2022, the health system managed a wide range of health programs and diseases. This ranged from COVID-19 to our regular annual infections and chronic non-communicable diseases. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, St. Lucia experienced a total of six waves, with a total of 15,665 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 2022, which was a 14.5% increase from 2021. Of these, 1,068 cases fit the definition of reinfection. The age group 25 to 49 years has been the most affected throughout the pandemic, comprising of 51% of the total cases, with females accounting for 57% of these cases. For the period January 2020 to January 5th 2022, 409 deaths were reported, given a case fatality rate of 1.4%. The overall vaccination rate for the population remains at 30%, which is below the required threshold to minimize the spread of the virus. The Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the emergence of new variants and sub-variants of COVID-19, and will continue to keep the public updated. In addition to COVID-19, there are other respiratory viruses in circulation, which may have similar clinical presentations as COVID-19. In several countries, there's been a steep increase in cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. During the last three months of 2022, a spike was noted in children less than five years of age, presenting with respiratory signs and symptoms. We have since noted a reduction in these cases. We also noted two new cases of tuberculosis reported in 2022, in comparison to three new cases in 2021. The Ministry of Health continues to work to maintain a low incidence of vector-borne diseases, as was reflected by a decline of 62% in dengue cases in 2022, that is 15 compared to 39 cases in 2021. We continue to record approximately one to two malaria cases annually, with all of the cases being imported cases. To date, there has been no local transmission of malaria cases. A total of eight cases of leptospirosis was reported in 2022. There were also seven cases of leprosy in 2022, as compared to eight cases that were noted in the previous year. The increasing impact of violence and injuries due to crime and motor vehicular accidents on the hospital system and the blood bank resources is also of concern. Chronic non-communicable diseases continue to be a significant cause of death in St. Lucia, with cancers, cerebral vascular diseases that is strokes, heart disease and diabetes, dominating as the top four causes of death for the last 10 years. Males account for 56% of all NCD deaths in 2020. Cancers account for about one in every five deaths in 2020. The main cancers affecting men remains prostate cancer and breast cancer for women. Despite this, males are losing more of their potential contribution to society due to assault, land transport accidents and chronic lower respiratory disease, which is COPD due to smoking. Females are losing more of their potential to society due to cancer that is breast and cervical cancer, in particular, and perinatal conditions specific to newborns. Guided by the trends noted over the last five years and the data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey carried out in 2019, primary care preventative health strengthening remains a major focus for the Ministry of Health. We continue to note low levels of health screening, increases in obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake and limited physical activity among our population. Programs to improve on preventative strategies such as the adoption of healthy lifestyles, early detection and screening will be further strengthened to support the adoption of behaviors to improve the health status of our citizens. The universal health coverage strategy, health system strengthening project and the results-based financing project will support the implementation of these programs in 2023. The Ministry of Health encourages all individuals, communities and organizations to partner with us in promoting health and maintaining healthy habits. Together we can make significant strides in reducing the burden of ill health on our country.