Health Minister says maintenance drugs for CNCDs cost government over EC $10 Million annually3/30/2016 Dominica’s Health Minister says it is costing government over 10million EC dollars every year, to provide maintenance drugs for chronic non-communicable diseases (CNDCs). Dr Darroux says that budget keeps growing each year. He says that CNCDs are having a serious impact on the country’s economy. Health Minister Dr Kenneth Darroux
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Government’s much talked about National Abattoir could finally open its doors in April 20163/30/2016 The much talked about national abattoir could finally officially opens its doors in April 2016. Government has already indicated that the testing phase was a success. Agriculture Minister Johnson Drigo says a construction company is now on island, making final preparations for the opening of the EC10 million-dollar facility. Agriculture Minister Johnson Drigo
Athie Martin wants any minister involved in inappropriate behavior with minors to come forward3/30/2016 Former Minister of Government, Atherton Martin, says one cannot be a champion for a cause if one’s lifestyle does not reflect one’s mission.
He believes that should individuals offer themselves to lead a country, then they must bear an upright image, as they are held to a higher standard of behaviour. Martin made the call to members of parliament who may have been involved in inappropriate behavior with minors to come forward. He says Dominica needs truth and reconciliation, and especially from an incumbent administration. Commonwealth Secretary-General Designate Patricia Scotland QC will assume that office as the 6th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations later this week.
Patricia Scotland QC will be taking over as Commonwealth Secretary-General from Kamalesh Sharma, who steps down on 31st March, after eight years of service. When she takes office on Friday 1st April 2016, she will be the second Secretary-General from the Caribbean, and the first woman to hold the post. In her video address at the opening of the 15th Conference of Presidents and Governors-General of the Caribbean region in Antigua & Barbuda today, she said “I am hugely proud that the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth have entrusted me with the role of Secretary-General, and I am determined that I will do everything in my power to make sure that our region is proud of what we are together able to achieve”. On her first day in office, 1st April 2016, the new Commonwealth Secretary-General will visit Dominica and open a new Disaster Rehabilitation Centre on the island, following the devastation caused by tropical storm Erika. Dominica fortunate not to have received dry spells during the drought season, says the GM of DOWASCO3/30/2016 General Manager of Dowasco, Bernard Etinoffe, says Dominica has been a bit more fortunate than previously expected, as it relates to the dry spells that were predicted for Dominica, following the development of the El Niño.
Currently, the majority of the Caribbean islands are experiencing drought, however Dominica is still receiving frequent rainfall. Due to the fact that one in five individuals with the Zika virus present symptoms, Acting Director for Primary Health Care Services, Dr. Laura Esprit, believes that there may be other cases of the virus here. She says one confirmed case does not mean that only one case exists.
According to Dr. Esprit the confirmed patient had no recent travel history. As travel history is a key component of identifying Zika she suggests that the virus could have been brought into the country. The OECS Commission in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) under the 10th EDF program, will be conducting a series of train the trainer programs in Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) Audit commencing in Dominica on March 30th at the Flamboyant Hotel.
According to a release, the course, which aims to provide an understanding of the key role of GAP auditing in improving farm operations and ensuring the safety of food produced will demonstrate the need to regularly assess farm management systems and practices and to measure performance. The course will also outline different approaches to establishing GAP audit programs, describe the key stages of audit planning and preparation; on-site activities and post audit reporting. It will also examine the skills and techniques required to carry out effective audits. The GAP audit training course is designed for extension officers and private sector stakeholders along the value chain in the OECS and will enable them to assist farmers in attaining high standards of food safety and quality performance. In particular, the extension officers and private sector stakeholders will receive training in conducting gap audits of farms with the ultimate goal of allowing these farms (or produce from the farm) to be certified based on an appropriate system for inspection and certification. The three day training program which runs to April 1st 2016 includes classroom sessions the practical exercise of auditing a selected farm. This training will also be held in St. Lucia, St. Kitts/Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Acting director for Primary Health Care Services, Dr Laura Esprit, states that the specifics of Dominica’s first Zika case are of no importance to the public however combating the virus is of great importance. She says that patient confidentiality is top priority and that the most important aspect is the knowledge of Zika on island. Esprit said that like Chikungunya, many do not believe that the virus is caused by a mosquito and this hinders the education process. She says this belief can prevent many from taking preventative measures.
Excitement is steadily building in the Spice Isle, as the crème de la crème of junior track and field descends on Grenada for the highly anticipated 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games this weekend. Already, teams from Anguilla, Antigua, the Cayman Islands, Guyana, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the US Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago have arrived in St. George’s to compete in the 45th edition of the Caribbean’s premier athletics meet.
Flow, the region’s leading telecommunications provider, has signed a three-year partnership with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) to be the exclusive broadcast partner and title sponsor of the CARIFTA Games. This means that for the first time in the history of the CARIFTA Games, the event will be broadcast live in High Definition (HD) across the entire Caribbean. The 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games will inaugurate Grenada’s new National Stadium which was recently redeveloped following the passing of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. More than 650 athletes and officials will attend the Games from countries including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarteen, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. Acting Director for Primary Health Care Services, Dr Laura Esprit, says while it is unfortunate that the Zika virus is present in Dominica, the ministry of health is actively keeping surveillance for the virus.
Esprit says the Health Ministry has been preparing for this epidemic since December 2015 and believes that the preparation has been successful in keeping Zika at bay. |
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