Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (henceforth, Saint Vincent) is one of 12 Caribbean countries joining
efforts with the United States Government in the United States-Caribbean Regional HIV and AIDS
Partnership Framework 2010–2014 (Partnership Framework). The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) is working through two projects, Health Systems 20/20 and
Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS), to provide a variety of health
systems strengthening technical assistance to countries in the eastern Caribbean, as part of this
Partnership Framework. To identify priorities for this technical assistance, the two projects conducted
an integrated health systems and private sector assessment. Additional partners in this effort included
the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Training and Education Center for
Health (I-TECH), and the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network (CHART). The assessment
described in this report is a first step toward improving the capacity of Saint Vincent to effectively lead,
finance, manage, and sustain the delivery of quality health services, including HIV prevention, care, and
treatment. Important to the country’s capacity to carry out these roles is better understanding and
catalyzing private sector contributions to health. While the functioning of the broader health system is
the focus of the assessment, particular attention was paid to sustaining the country’s HIV response.