Minister of Tourism and Public Health of Aruba, Mr. Dangui Oduber departed last Wednesday afternoon for the United States in order to join queen Maxima of the Netherlands during her work trip.
Austin
Yesterday, Mr. Oduber was in Austin where he took part in a health conference together with minister of Public Health, Welness and Sport of the Netherlands, Mr. Ernst Johan Kuipers. The health conference was organized together with Austin Healthcare Council, a non-profit organization founded by leaders in the health industry working with a single goal, to establish Austin’s global position as a centre for health innovation. Here the opportunity arose to strengthen cooperation after the last visit back in 2019 in Texas, but also looking at the future and the opportunities to work in colaboration.
Oduber gave a speech sharing the experience of how innovation and technology helped Aruba during the Covid-19 pandemic. He spoke about Aruba Health App, which was created during the pandemic to facilitate the testing process as well as to centralize each patient’s information optimally, digitally, and accessible for everyone in Aruba. Afterwards, use of the system was incorporated for it to be a solution where passengers can present their personal health data to airlines, hotels and all partners in the hospitality industry in a private and safe way. Emphasis was put on the fact that Aruba, such a small country, became an example for bigger countries. The minsiter also spoke about how other countries also chose to implement this system after seeing how efficient the app is.
Afterwards, he accompanied queen Maxima and minister Kuipers during a visit at Hogg Foundation for mental health. Here they discussed topics of common interest, regarding how countries are coping with challenges regarding mental health and sharing data to elaborate on how countries can support and cooperate with each other on this matter. At the Hogg Foundation the main objective is to incorporate innovation, but also to learn to work more preventatively for mental health, particularly for young persons.
Houston
Today, minister Oduber is at Houston where he will receive a walkthrough of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) Innovation, and will also visit MD Anderson Cancer Center, together with queen Maxima and minister Kuipers. Both these medical centers are renowned as some of the best in the country. During this visit they will receive various presentations from experts in the field of healthcare, and there will also be opportunities to ask questions.
Minister Oduber considers this an important opportunity to create new international cooperation and to fortify existing cooperation. He is also said to be extremely proud to have the opportunity to give a speech in the name of Aruba to focus on the importance of innovation in healthcare and how advanced technology can help better the quality of care.
The main focus of this trip is innovation in healthcare.
