 Greetings, St. Lucians. The month of October is a very important and exciting month for the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs. It is rife with opportunities to raise the awareness of many important health issues, which have been of concern to us as a people who continue to work towards our wholesome health and wellness, even as we battle in this deadly COVID-19 war. Over the next four weeks, the health and wellness fraternity will join its counterparts the world over in observing a month-long campaign to raise awareness on the impact of breast cancer starting on the 1st of October. International Day of Older Persons, which is also celebrated on October 1st, is another great day. International Doctors Day on October 4th and World Mental Health Day on the 10th of October this year. The Ministry of Health through the Bureau of Health Education will be hosting a programme of activities under the theme Embraced Her. This is an observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Through this theme, the Ministry will bring focus to the importance of embracing breast health as an important component of achieving overall health and well-being. Activities will be held through media seminars as well as face-to-face discussions within communities, particularly to educate on and encourage routine clinical breast screening and self-examinations. Friends, the International Day for Older Persons on October 1st is a time for us to reflect on the contributions of elderly conclusions to our development. It is also a time for the new Ministry for Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs to use the occasion as a springboard for a new kind of engagement with our older resourceful people. We salute the contributions they have made to the development of our beloved homeland. It is because of their commitment to building strong families and communities around the island in their youth that we can be proud of the resilient people we have become. We cannot forget them in this era. Indeed, we are the generation that will actualize their vision of a Saint Lucia which is consistently able to offer its citizens the very best in socio-economic opportunities. This year, International Day for Older Persons is being celebrated under the theme Digital Equity for All Ages. This affirms the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital world by older persons. Some of the focus areas under the theme for 2021 are bringing awareness of the importance of digital inclusion of older persons, highlighting policies to leverage digital technologies for full achievement of the sustainable development goals, addressing public and private interests in the areas of availability, connectivity, design, affordability, capacity building, infrastructure and innovation, exploring the role of policies and legal frameworks to ensure privacy and safety of older persons in the digital world and highlighting the need for a legally binding instrument on the rights of older persons and an intersectional person-centered human rights approach for society for all ages. The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Early Affairs sees the International Day for Older Persons as the start of our contribution to the decade of healthy aging which commends this year 2021 and will go until 2030. It gives us an opportunity to bring together our government, international agencies and development partners, academia, professionals, the private sector and the media for 10 years of collaborative and innovative actions to decisively impact and improve the lives of older people, their family and wider communities. In celebration of one of the world's most noble professions, International Doctors Day, it will be celebrated this coming Monday. It will draw awareness to the challenges doctors face daily in caring for the most vulnerable among us. A special appreciation activity is already slated locally to publicly applaud the efforts of all doctors who have worked as seriously, especially over the last year of the pandemic. The efforts have truly exemplified the St. Lucian spirit, persevering and persistent and honourable. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on our people's mental health. Some groups, including health and frontline workers, students, people living alone and those with pre-existing medical health conditions have been particularly affected. Services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders have been significantly disrupted. These realities will be brought into focus for our tension on October 10th when we joined the rest of the world in observing World Mental Health Day 2021 under the theme mental health and unequal world. Locally, our activities will roll out over the course of the year and you will be challenged to rise up to the call, promote and highlight positive stories on the issue of mental wellness in your various capacities once these initiatives have been officially launched. We believe that each and every St. Lucian's can be an inspiration and serve as beacons of hope and catalysts of change as it relates to demystifying and breaking the cycle of stigma associated with and the discrimination against people who suffer with mental health. Friends, there is cause for optimism. We realize the need as a ministry to scale up quality mental health services at all levels with the unwavering support of our mental health and wellness professionals. Today, as we commence our journey into the month of October, we salute the various medical practitioners, doctors, nurses, lab technicians and all those who serve the nation on the front line in our fight against COVID-19, the fire service, the police, everyone. These are some of the same practitioners and professionals who spared actions towards the research, care and development of incentives geared towards the rehabilitation and treatment of patients living with so many communicable and non-communicable diseases in our country. Ladies and Sisters, I ask that you participate fully in this month's activities. Look out for our schedule activities on local media and on social media for the updates and always remember to remain vigilant and proactive in exercising the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health to protect us during this pandemic. I thank you.