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Basseterre, St. Kitts | March 3, 2025 – The Prime Minister’s Children’s Medical Fund continues to play a crucial role in providing overseas medical treatment to sick children in St. Kitts and Nevis. However, the fund remains shrouded in secrecy, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and how taxpayers’ dollars are being managed.

Despite the heartwarming success stories of young patients whose lives have been transformed through the initiative, the financial operations of the Prime Minister’s Children’s Medical Fund have never been made public. No financial statements, accounts, or even a summary of the fund’s operations have ever been issued to the public since the fund’s inception.

The fund, which is managed directly by the Prime Minister’s Office, seemingly operates without parliamentary oversight or a publicly outlined structure for how assistance is granted. Beyond a broad description that the fund is designed to provide children’s medical assistance, no official criteria or guidelines have ever been publicised regarding who qualifies for help or the decision-making process behind the allocation of funds.

The lack of transparency has sparked mounting calls for greater accountability, especially as the initiative is believed to be funded through public resources and community donations.

Nevertheless, the fund’s impact cannot be denied. Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has repeatedly vowed that no child in the Federation will be left behind when it comes to accessing life-saving medical care. In February alone, four children received critical overseas medical treatment under the program — a beacon of hope in the face of the troubling opacity surrounding the fund.

Among those who received assistance is 16-year-old Sharina, who underwent successful posterior spinal fusion surgery in South Carolina. With support from the Pediatric Assistance League of St. Kitts and Nevis (PALS) and Shriners Children’s Hospital, Sharina is now on the path to recovery.

Eleven-month-old Quandre also benefited from the initiative, undergoing life-saving surgery overseas just before celebrating his first birthday. Additionally, four-year-old Jahmiel bravely endured a difficult overseas procedure, while seven-year-old Nu’Vida, diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, received urgent surgical treatment thanks to PALS and the generosity of donors.

Donations to support this critical work can be made at https://quickclick.com/r/zu7jz, as the community continues to rally behind the nation’s most vulnerable.

While the compassion behind the fund’s mission is widely applauded, the persistent lack of transparency leaves citizens grappling with unanswered questions. The demand for full disclosure and proper parliamentary oversight grows louder, as many believe that a fund powered by public goodwill must be held to the highest standards of accountability.

For now, the Prime Minister’s pledge remains steadfast — no child will be left to suffer. But with the fund’s operations cloaked in secrecy, the call for transparency refuses to be silenced.