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Good morning. The MAHA movement is influencing not only the federal government, but also state legislatures across the U.S. We discuss all that and the key biotech news today.

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President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced a five-year extension of the National Healthcare Initiative to transform Guyana’s public health system with world-class healthcare services accessible to every Guyanese citizen. This next phase of the initiative, launched in 2022 by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation, will ...

View the full post Pharmacognosist endorses Grenada Syrup to promote health-conscious cocktails on NOW Grenada.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday inked a US$3.3 million agreement with the United Kingdom-headquartered RioMed Limited to establish an electronic health records (EHR) system that would be accessible across all public healthcare providers to allow doctors to more efficiently treat patients. Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony again warned those who would access the EHR ...

View the full post Government provided over EC$4 million subvention to NGO on NOW Grenada.

Trisha Tannis, president of the Barbados Private Sector Association, has challenged the government to rethink its strategy on healthy eating, arguing that the latest measure to curb non-communicable diseases –  a ‘sodium tax’ on salty snacks – is insufficient without making nutritious alternatives more affordable for low-income families.

“As much as I support the thrust to reduce NCDs—and it is a must—the government has been congratulated for putting that in the crosshairs,” Tannis said. “But I would like to see an equal amount of strategy and emphasis on reducing the cost of healthy foods because when mothers, particularly in the vulnerable economic population, go into the supermarket, they are not making a nutritional choice. They are making an economic choice.”

Her comments come in response to the government’s latest budget proposal, which introduces new taxes on salted snacks such as potato chips and corn curls in an effort to discourage unhealthy eating habits. Tannis argued that this approach remains “ad hoc” and does not provide struggling families with viable alternatives.

“You simply give that woman an impossible decision to make,” she said, further noting the financial strain that many shoppers face when trying to prioritise nutrition over affordability. 

Tannis stressed the need for a targeted strategy that ensures a significant price reduction on essential fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods, suggesting that, just as unhealthy products are being taxed, healthier options should be deliberately made cheaper to empower households to make better dietary choices.

“We need a strategy that says you can pay extra for the bad things, and you can pay less for the good things,” she said. “Essentially, we need to empower households and women who are shopping for their children to make it easy to pick up the healthy things.” 

(SM)

The post BPSA: Make healthy food affordable instead of taxing snacks appeared first on Barbados Today.

View the full post Government of Grenada 2025 Budget Statement on NOW Grenada.

A group of investors in the Brazilian state of Roraima is interested in establishing a medical school in the Rupununi, and President Irfaan Ali wants the University of Guyana (UG) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) to be part of the project. Addressing the sod-turning ceremony for a new hospital at Lethem and ...

President Irfaan Ali on Saturday announced that his administration’s Georgetown transformation plan includes improving drainage, emphasising history and culture while promoting walking and riding rather than too many vehicles in the city. “All of these sectors and segments that we see the City evolving with will support a city that is people-centric, moving more towards ...

The cockpit voice recorder of the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Bell 412EPI helicopter that crashed and burnt almost one year ago in dense jungle was badly damaged, causing investigators to rely heavily on the personal accounts of the co-pilot and another survivor, well-placed sources said. “The black box was damaged,” Aviation Minister, Juan Edghill told ...