GRASS FIRES STRETCHING RESOURCES OF FIRE SERVICE

By Sheria Brathwaite

The recent uptick in grass fires has been putting the Barbados Fire Service under strain and Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard is pleading with Barbadians to avoid starting fires.
Meanwhile, the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) is urging the Ministry of Education to act more promptly in closing schools impacted by heavy smoke.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY on Monday after 8 p.m., at which time crews were still out fighting fires, Maynard expressed concern that many of the grass fires were caused by people, intentionally or otherwise.
“We are definitely extremely concerned because the fires are stretching our resources beyond limit. Just today, we had in excess of 14 fires up to 7 p.m. and now we are still having fires. They are stretching our resources to the limits, [to the point that] the admin staff, the senior officers, everybody had to come out today,” he said.
Maynard said crews were out from as early as 9 a.m. on Monday in Colleton and Greenidges in St Lucy, Pool in St John, Padmore Village and Farm Road in St Philip, and Callenders and Coral Ridge in Christ Church.
So far this year, there have been 176 grass fires, 20 more than during the January to March period last year.
“All are not due to combustion. Some have to deal with human intervention, accidental or otherwise,” Maynard said about the cause of the fires. “So we are encouraging all persons to avoid burning. Those who are doing it intentionally should stop it and those [doing it] unintentionally should avoid burning; because of the dry conditions and high winds, you will lose control of these fires.”
For the past few weeks, classes at several schools have been affected by billowing smoke.
While saying he was concerned about the disruption, president of the BUT Rudy Lovell said the health of those being impacted by the smoke was more important.
He said he was also concerned about how long it took the Ministry of Education to give the directive to close schools in these circumstances.
“Complaints from our members suggest that in some instances, schools remain open for a prolonged period, waiting for official notice from the Ministry of Education to close, and we would want the ministry to establish a protocol which gives the principal of the school the leeway to make decisions in the best interest of the occupants of the school compound,” Lovell said, noting that while principals wait for the green light from the ministry, students and staff “are suffering from smoke inhalation”.
“We know there are a lot of asthmatics and people with other respiratory ailments and we do not want to expose these people unnecessarily to these environmental issues that can be avoided,” the BUT president added.
In a press release, the Ministry of Education advised parents and guardians to ensure their wards walk with medication if they have respiratory illnesses, noting that they should also have a plan to ensure they can collect their children in a timely manner.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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By Anesta Henry

Asthmatics and persons who suffer from allergies and sinus complications have been advised to take all precautionary measures to protect themselves as the country continues to experience a series of cane and grass fires.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. The Most Honourable Kenneth George is also supporting the decision of the Ministry of Education to close affected schools to protect students and teachers from the potentially harmful inhalations.
However, Dr George told Barbados TODAY that he had received no reports from polyclinics or the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) regarding an alarming increase in persons reporting to the facilities complaining of health issues due to the environmental hazard.
“The major persons who would be affected are persons who have some form of allergy. And we know that asthma and sinusitis and sinus headaches and so forth fall into the allergy category and those are the people who should try to protect themselves the most.
“The best way to protect yourself is to leave the area that is close to a site that is burning. We know that that may not always be easy, or it may be easier said than done. Therefore, individuals who can’t get out of the situation, many of you may have masks in your houses because you would have used masks during the COVID pandemic. If you can’t put on a mask, you have to try to lock your houses so that the influx of smoke will not affect you,” he said.
Dr George noted that smoke comprises chemicals which can lead to acute respiratory injury or a reaction that produces bronchial spasms, runny nose and itchy skin.
In recent weeks, the Ministry of Education has had to summon parents and guardians to collect their children after the institutions had to be closed prematurely.
Dr George said even though it may appear to the public that schools are being closed too frequently because of fires, “from a public health perspective, we need to make sure that people are protected.
“We know that asthma kills one or two individuals every year. So it is better to be safe than sorry. I am supportive of the Ministry of Education deciding to close schools, particularly if staff and students are reporting that the environmental conditions are affecting their health. I haven’t received any reports, but the polyclinics are always willing and able to provide any acute care,” Dr George said.
Meanwhile, the CMO recommended that schools establish a treatment plan to guide what measures should be taken to manage students or staff who may experience asthma attacks.
“I think schools should invest in some form of treatment plan for asthma because asthma is so common. Schools should have some area identified as an asthma bay so that they can give some form of acute treatment to persons who are in distress,” he said.
Director of the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) Sabu Best explained that there has been a significant reduction in rainfall in recent weeks, particularly in the St Philip, Christ Church, St Lucy areas and this has led to an increase in grass and cane fires due to the dry topsoil.
Best said that while the grass and cane fires usually last for a few hours, the smoke is likely to travel for many miles.
“This is going to make life a bit complex for residents in Barbados, particularly those living in St Michael and working in the Bridgetown area. We expect that these kinds of conditions are going to continue into April where grass and cane fires will be sparking off because of the dry conditions.
“There is not going to be any rainfall coming in anytime soon and I just want Barbadians to be aware that they can expect to see more fires in days to come and just be prepared. This is not an uncommon thing to be actually happening during the dry season,” Best said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) is reporting an increase in the illegal use of its facilities by people burning materials to get copper in order to cash in on the growing trade in that metal.
At a media briefing on Friday, public relations officer (PRO) Carl Alff Padmore said the use of the Mangrove, St Thomas landfill for that purpose was extremely dangerous and put residents in the nearby communities at serious risk.
“The landfill area is dry because, naturally, we are not getting any rain. Why is that a problem for us? We have persons who are trespassing on the compound and they are creating a nuisance because what they are doing is burning copper. There is a trade for copper in Barbados [and so] they are trying to get the rubber off of the copper,” he complained, explaining that these fires were happening in an area near the old Central Cricket Club pavilion.
Saying that no permission had been granted by either the SSA or the Barbados Fire Service to start these fires, Padmore warned: “A simple flame can ignite the grass around the landfill and once the landfill catches, we know it will cause serious strain on our resources because we have to get crews to out it; it will cause strain on the fire service because they will have to deploy trucks; and environmental officers from the Ministry of Health would have to come and do air quality testing.”
“So one simple act . . . has the potential to be a nuisance at a bigger scale,” he added, noting that residents living downwind, in areas such as Arch Hall, Bennetts and Bucks, would be impacted if a fire started at the landfill.
The SSA spokesperson said the culprits tend to start the fires early in the morning and while some people had been spotted leaving the dump, no one had been caught.
He reminded that anyone found engaging in the illegal practice could be slapped with a fine of $5 000 or be jailed for creating a public nuisance.
During the briefing, Padmore also reminded Barbadians not to commingle old mattresses they take to the dump with other waste.
He said there was a programme in place for the SSA to dispose of those kinds of items which come from households, businesses such as nursing homes, and government facilities like the Geriatric Hospital.
Padmore said the SSA would engage in a controlled burn and those were the only fires that were conducted and considered safe at the Mangrove Landfill.
(SZB)

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CTUSAB RECOMMENDS EARLIER TERM’S LEAVE FOR TEACHERS TO AVOID FATIGUE

By Jenique Belgrave

Teachers must once again be allowed a term’s leave after five years’ of service.
General Secretary of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados Dennis DePeiza made this clear on Friday as he insisted that educators have to be protected from the very real threat of burnout.
Saying some believed that the three school breaks per year provided enough time for teachers to rest, he suggested that for many of those days, they are still occupied with work.
“When schools are on recess, teachers are at seminars, summer school, preparation meetings and they get burnout. They were supposed to be given a term’s leave after every five years and someone determined that this should be moved to 15 years. I think there needs to be a rethink and teachers should be given a term’s leave after five years,” he said, noting that such a job needed to be incentivised to draw a higher level of interest.
Speaking to the media at the Barbados Union of Teachers’ Merryhill headquarters on Friday, he also expressed concerns over the number of school disruptions being experienced in recent times due to environmental issues and instances of violence.
“When we see disruption that is continuous like this it says something about how we are managing the system…As soon as something happens, somebody pops up, makes a statement and then disappears, but there seems to be no direction coming from the Ministry of Education, none whatsoever to deal with these ongoing issues,” he charged.
Depeiza noted that such stoppages have an impact on the island’s productivity and he suggested that a broad discussion with all stakeholders is necessary if issues affecting the education sector are to be addressed.
“We need to get something done where we engage all stakeholders because this disruption is having an impact on the country’s economic development. You may say only the schools are closed but when the schools are closed, parents have to go for children all during the day, they lose income and some jobs may be on the line because they are not at work.
“There are other social factors that are affected as people who have a little money are spending it on someone to keep their children and on meals as the children are, in some cases, missing out on the school lunches provided.
“We have to look at this broadly and find out what are the problems right across the system, have some serious discussions and look for solutions,” Depeiza added.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

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Among young people, what seems like a game has repercussions for them and future generations that procreate, because poverty also increases, due to the expenses that it implies having children with health complications. Of 7,976 early births, some are fortuitous. However, the specialists in the area are concerned about the harmful substances consumed by adolescents and young people,  as for the lack of checks during pregnancy and malnutrition.

The statistics of the National Health Service (SNS) indicate that of 114,580 births registered in the country last year, 59,207 were of mothers under 24 years, and of these, 23,258 were teenagers, including 859 under 15 years. “The use of substances during pregnancy promotes prematurity, low birth weight, and that the embryo is not developed properly when the woman abuses so much drug, hookah or vape,” said Leandra Cordero Oñate, pediatric pneumologist and nutriologist. The babies suffer many complications when born prematurely or with low weight. In 2022, 9.04% of births presented low weight and 0.3% malformation. Dr. Cordero Oñate sees in consultation an increase in interstitial pathology, pneumonic processes, and secondary fibrosis and attributes it to the abuse of that type of product at an early age. “All these findings are seen in young people, who understand that using Hookah or vape is not smoking, it is quite the opposite,” he said.

Law 16-19 prohibits the use of Hookah in public and private places in the country, but electronic cigarette has no restrictions and is widely used among adolescents. Studies conducted at the Maternal Child Hospital of Los Minas determined that 73% of teenage mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy and 21% of their babies required attention due to the condition of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Among other factors of prematurity and risks of children’s deaths are hypertension (preeclampsia), obesity, diabetes, having a sedentary life, depression, and low schooling. Maternal-infantile hospitals in the Dominican Republic are endowed with units specialized in attention to premature and low-weight babies, with the required drugs and specialized doctors.

Dialing the toll-free number 809-200-1400, during the pilot schedule from Monday to Friday from 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon, trained professionals will provide specialized psychological assistance in a safe and healthy environment. “It will not be an automatic line,” but a person will be on the other side listening and providing timely follow-up, Pujals explained.

In his speech, the director of the OGTIC reflected on how mental health alerts have skyrocketed after the arrival of the pandemic due to COVID-19, increasing anxiety and depression disorders. Minister Rivera stressed that in the last two years, there were 400 thousand of psychology consultations and 178 thousand of psychiatric consultations, according to the data of the National Health Service (SNS), evidencing the need for citizens to have a friendly hand for mental health services. The hotline will be connected to the SNS mental health services network, which already has 17 crisis intervention units disseminated throughout the country. The first lady said that, in the future, the number to be marked will be simplified and, from the 9-1-1 system, citizens can connect to the line.

Likewise, the Vice Minister of Collective Health, Eladio Pérez, explained that after psychosocial rehabilitation in a crisis intervention unit, if necessary, the patient would go to the psychosocial and human development center (Reside). “This comes to reinforce the mental health strategy and is the first phase to develop a service that will give timely response to all needs in the mental health area,” Pérez added.

Nation Builders will be a division under the Ministry of Mobilisation, Implementation, and Transformation

View the full post Programme to remove bureaucracy for community projects on NOW Grenada.

By Michron Robinson

The Ashley Lashley Foundation is continuing earnestly in its bid to educate the primary school population about healthy lifestyles and eco-consciousness.

On Tuesday, the organisation headed by social, climate change and youth activist Ashley Lashley ventured to the Sharon Primary School in St. Thomas with the roll out of the second session of their Eco-Active Youth tour.

Using the morning to engage with the students, Lashley quizzed them on various climate and healthy living topics, including What does climate change mean?  Some who dared to rise to the challenge provided sensible and informed responses.

The highlights during the morning included experiments carried out by the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology officer Brandon Spooner, who provided live examples of how “clouds” and “tornadoes” are created. The kids enjoyed that thoroughly, but what they also loved was the get fit aspect by fitness expert Spinny who took them through various paces in moving their bodies. No one shied away from getting into the push up positions or even squatting to the uptempo Bajan tunes.

While speaking to Barbados TODAY Lashley said that she was encouraged by this second school tour. “Our team is very excited to have the 2023 edition of the Eco Active Youth campaign underway. We have welcomed some new partners on board and expanded to include 30 schools, which is an increase from the 20 schools in last year’s pilot,” she said.

The founder of the initiative also explained that she’s excited about the new partnerships seen this year. “We have brought the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology onboard, to give a practical demonstration of different weather patterns we observe, and we have taken this same approach in highlighting the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Our team has worked very hard to bring this year’s campaign to life and we are all looking forward to interacting with all the kids and teaching them how they can adopt healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.”

In December, there will be a Grand Finale event where all 30 schools that have participated throughout the programme will be celebrated.

(MR)

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Civil society is calling for healthier foods to be made more affordable by lowering tariffs on healthy food imports and placing higher tariffs on less healthy foods. This proposal follows recent analysis showing the import tax on healthier foods to be on average 10 per cent higher than on unhealthy food imports.

Concerned with the growing number of citizens being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases because of poor dietary choices, in 2022 the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados Inc. (HSFB) commissioned the University of the West Indies Deputy Principal Professor Winston Moore and Lecturer, Dr Antonio Alleyne to examine whether food prices are truly proving prohibitive to healthy eating and to recommend a policy approach to make healthy foods more affordable.

The policy proposal points out the significant contrast between the high tariffs attached to healthy food imports like fresh vegetables and fruits, compared to the low taxes placed on unhealthy food imports high in salt, sugar and fat, such as cookies, chips and ice cream. It clearly illustrates that, on average, unhealthy foods carry an import tariff of 35 per cent, while healthy foods are taxed at around 45 per cent.

The policy proposal urges the government to flip these tax rates, thereby allowing healthy foods to be sold at a much cheaper price.

According to Professor Moore, “In our island more than half of the population can be considered obese or at risk of being obese as well, and this is largely related to diet. What we have seen is that the choices that we make in relation to food are fundamentally related to the prices. The trend is that (as a people), we go for cheaper foods, which tend to be the unhealthy ones. If we can make healthy foods cheaper, and make unhealthy foods more expensive, we hope it makes it clear for consumers when they go into the supermarket, that they should make a switch, as it would be cheaper for them to consume healthier foods.”

The findings echo the results of the recently released United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022, which illustrates the high costs attached to healthy eating across the region and the preference of low- and middle- income families to consume cheap, energy dense unhealthy foods instead.

The policy proposal highlights the steps taken by Mexico to increase the excise tax on all imported energy-dense foods including salty snacks, chips, sweets, chocolates, cakes, pastries, and frozen desserts, and Chile’s introduction of a “fat-tax” on high in fat and sugar imports, as examples Barbados can consider in developing its own plan to reduce unhealthy eating.

“In essence, by increasing the prices of unhealthy products, taxes can get people to consume less of them and improve nutrition and health. Healthcare costs would be lower, and people would live healthier, longer lives. Governments could use the resulting revenue gains by helping low-income families or cutting other taxes,” Professor Moore adds.

The proposal goes even further by illustrating the benefits of local producers and manufacturers changing their own recipes by lowering the sugar, salt and fat content in the foods being produced.

“Some manufacturers will argue that there is a fall off on the local market when recipes change, and I understand this. However, if you explain to the public the benefits of the reduction and that it is better for you in the long run, it can go a long way. In addition, the manufacturers should see this as an opportunity to innovate and develop new products that can then be exported to other regions in the Caribbean. We need to innovate and try new products and use the domestic market as that testing market to then get into other markets in Latin America and Caribbean and internationally,” the economist asserts.

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados

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In February 2018, I had a slight pain in my lower right side, similar to an exercising pain. I didn’t think much of it, but I thought it could be my appendix. I decided to go to the doctor that evening. Well, that evening I had no pain, and as most men decide, I would not need to go to the doctor. However, my daughter, who was 17 at the time, insisted I go. She was almost to the point of tears. I could see the worry on her face and hear the concern in her voice.

I went to the doctor. As it turned out, nothing showed up in the initial check, so I was sent to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a mass on my left side, which then meant a CT scan. They found a definite mass on the left and several lymph nodes that were inflamed. Notice the pain I had was on my right. The mass was found on the left. The pain I felt was nothing to do with it, but maybe was a sign from God.

I had to be scheduled for a colonoscopy, and following that, it was confirmed that I had a cancerous growth in my left colon and would need to have surgery. The whole time my wife was by my side, and it was through her love and support, and that of my children, that I maintained my sanity.

I approached this new ‘adventure’ in my life with a certain level of strength and determination. The surgery was on March 6, 2018. It was determined that cancer had not spread through the lining of the colon into the muscles. A number of lymph nodes removed all showed negative.

I was told that I would not need to do chemotherapy or radiation therapy, but just adjust my diet and exercise regimes. I have since then made myself an advocate for colon cancer awareness by sharing my journey with many groups, businesses, and organizations. I hope to encourage people to get early screenings. I will continue to share my story whenever I can, and I want to help find a way to eliminate cancer from being a part of anyone’s life. My life is an open book. Ask me anything.

My advice: The first step is to get checked. If needed, you can start with the stool test; however, the gold standard is the colonoscopy. It is carried out easily in the doctor’s clinic. You are home the same day with little to no side effects. I have had three now, and I have never had any issues.

March 6th 2023 will be exactly five years that I have been cancer free. This is a milestone for those of us who have had cancer. My five-year survival rate would have been 90 to 95 per cent as I detected it very early.

Once detected early, it can be removed, and treatment can be very minimal in most cases. Stay positive and keep smiling through the whole process, as hard as it may seem. Take it from someone who has been there. It was through my positive attitude that I was able to handle the situation.

Since 2018, I became a self-appointed advocate for colon cancer awareness. I have shared my story on TV, radio, print media and social media – wherever I get the chance to raise the awareness and speak of the importance of early screening and detection.

I joined a US-based organisation called Fight CRC and became one of their “Relentless Champions”. They tell me I am the first person not only in the Caribbean to be a part of their organisation but also the first person outside of the US to have come forward and joined them.

Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC) is the leading patient-empowerment and advocacy organization in the United States, providing balanced and objective information on colon and rectal cancer research, treatment, and policy. We are relentless champions of hope, focused on funding promising, high-impact research endeavours, while equipping advocates to influence legislation and policy for the collective good.

We are Relentless Champions of hope in the fight against colorectal cancer.

I am here to talk with anyone, share my journey and story with whoever needs to hear it or who may need encouragement. I had my wife and two children by my side throughout and if it wasn’t for them, I do not know what would have happened. I had them to be strong for and they were there to be strong for me.

I am here for you. Contact me anytime at: www.facebook.com/beatingcoloncancer; beatingcoloncancer@gmail.com.

“Remember, colon cancer is beatable, treatable, and preventable.”

Graham Bannister

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