Two senior reporters made history by being awarded the first Journalism Fellowships for Childhood Obesity and NCD Prevention on December 15.

Marlon Madden of Barbados TODAY and Regina Selman Moore of The Barbados Advocate were selected to receive the Fellowship, which was launched in May 2021 through a partnership between the Barbados Association of Journalists and Media Workers (BARJAM) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB).

Pre-COVID research shows that an alarming 31 per cent of children in Barbados are obese or overweight. It is especially critical that young people, parents and policymakers be informed on how to tackle this health crisis that is inextricably linked to the extremely high prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Current statistics indicate that eight out of every ten deaths in Barbados is due to an NCD.

An analysis of media coverage in Barbados between June 2021 and March 2022 revealed that articles by Madden and Selman-Moore highlighted childhood obesity, the increasing challenge of NCDs, and its impact on the social, economic and financial sectors.

General Secretary of BARJAM Emmanuel Joseph congratulated the journalists and applauded the initiative. 

“The Association is delighted and celebrates with Regina and Marlon on being chosen for the fellowship. I thank you both for your good work against all the odds, because journalism can be a thankless job as a lot is demanded of us, with very little returns,” said Joseph.

He also thanked the HSFB for the collaboration and urged the two journalists to capitalise on the fellowship and to continue drawing attention to the issue of childhood obesity, as it is a matter of life and death. He noted that the fellowships are key to bringing this concern into public discourse and raising awareness about the issue. “We look forward to the transformation that reporting on childhood obesity (and NCDs) will bring to the local landscape,” he said.

The journalists will each be awarded Bds$1, 200 to support their six-month fellowship, which began on December 1, 2022. During this period, the journalists are challenged to produce evidence-based in-depth articles and stories that further explore the various aspects related to childhood obesity and NCDs at the national and global level, and continue to sensitise Barbadians to the issues. 

 Offering her congratulations, Chief Executive Officer of HSFB Michelle Daniel stressed that the media continues to be an important partner in advocacy efforts for childhood obesity.

“We have noted some very dedicated journalists who understand the metrics of a situation as alarming as childhood obesity and are able to present this information in easily comprehensible ways. Our public cannot be informed about the factors influencing childhood obesity without the support and input of the media. We are heartened to award professional and dedicated journalists to be on the right side for our children as we continue this battle,” she said. 

The presentation to the winning journalists took place at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados. 

(PR)

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According to the same Global Health report, 58% of the global population says they think “often” about their mental well-being.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of adults of working age have a mental disorder, resulting in global economic losses of more than $1 trillion. As a result, this issue is presented as a priority for the international community’s socioeconomic mobility. With these statistics, it is clear that mental health is a topic that is extremely important today and will become even more so in the future. As a result, in a society where consumers expect brands to be agents of change and contribute to people’s well-being, communication strategies that focus on their attention have begun to gain prominence, and many brands have made it their purpose.

The global Communication, Public Affairs, and Marketing consultancy, LLYC, presents the Report “Mental health as a brand purpose” to provide communication strategies that allow brands to relate to their communities of interest. Considering the context in which the definition of a brand’s purpose is critical, mental health presents a great opportunity for companies to play an active, legitimate role in raising awareness and having a positive impact on people.

Despite the intervention of the Ministry of Public Health and the Dominican Red Cross, who have installed four sanitized water containers at the mouth of the “Zurza Abajo,”  where four active cases of cholera are currently maintained, the people of the place continue to prefer the comfort of drinking the water that comes to their homes, over sanitation. “The water sometimes comes with green, greasy, dirty, or bad-smelling straws, and when that happens, I don’t drink it,” said Maria Victoria, who thanked health officials for intervening yesterday.

Contrary to Maria, various residents of the area stated that the State’s intervention in search of improvement or prevention has been insufficient. “Tell me, what is the point of coming down and putting a water tank down here if the same garbage is still everywhere?” According to Pulman Cena, who has lived in the area for over forty years and has never been sick or suffered damage due to the supposed contamination of the waters.

At the expense of this, Cena left the crystalline pool of La Zurza, from which plastic waste, caps, clothing remnants, and garbage can be seen at the bottom; additionally, he filled gallons and buckets in his house with water that he claimed came from an aqueduct connected to the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD) tank, which supplies the neighborhood market.

A monthly EC$500 honorarium will be paid to nurses for the fiscal year of 2023, an olive branch from Government to deter a mass exodus of nurses

View the full post EC$500 monthly honorarium to deter nurse exodus on NOW Grenada.

Health facilities in Guyana’s interior regions are to be upgraded over the next three years to the value of GY$125 billion, President Irfaan Ali announced during Monday’s commissioning of the upgraded Mabaruma Smart Hospital. He said that upgrades would give the “best possible working conditions” and provide the areas, which include Lethem, Kato, Mahdia, Kamarang, ...

To prevent the spread of the disease, the vehicles will be used for field operations such as cleaning, disinfection, and surveillance. The charge d’affaires of the US embassy, Robert Thomas, emphasized his government’s extensive cooperation since the discovery of ASF last year.

The diplomat assured that “the United States wants to see the Dominican Republic prosper and succeed and that means working hand in hand with the Dominican authorities to eradicate African swine fever to guarantee the continued success and prosperity of the hog production sector.” He added that “today’s donation is just another example of our sustained and ongoing support to the Dominican Republic in the management and mitigation of African swine fever.” The Minister of Agriculture pointed out that “since the activation of the ASF Incidence Command System, we have kept this dangerous disease under control to protect the Dominican swine population and with the firm decision of President Abinader each producer affected by slaughtering their pigs we compensate at a fair price so that you can recover and maintain your economy”.

He indicated that it is a joint work in addition to international organizations, the Ministry of Agriculture, the General Directorate of Livestock, Digega el Bagrícola and pig producers. This delivery, valued at US$380,000, is part of the more than US$17 million that the US government has contributed to the country since July 2021 in vehicles, equipment, and technical assistance to eradicate this disease and protect the Dominican people from its impact on the national economy and food security. The total figure also includes US$5.2 million to compensate producers who lost their pigs due to the epidemic.

The health center, when applying for the National Quality Award, organized by the Ministry of Public Administration, obtained a silver medal in 2015, a gold medal in 2016, and the Grand National Quality Award in 2017, as well as Gold in its first application for the Ibero-American Quality Award in its 2019 version and was received in Madrid in February 2020.

In July of this year, the HPHM led in the No.1 position in the ranking of the best hospitals nationwide according to the Public Administration Monitoring System (SISMAP) for the health sector. On that occasion, it was also recognized by the National Health Service (SNS), for achieving the best hospital performance in the country. When offering the information, Dr. Dhamelisse Then, Director of the Hugo Mendoza Pediatric Hospital, highlighted the full support of the National Health Service, for what was a country application and revealed the passion, dedication, and great sense of humanization of the medical and administrative staff that make this health center a national and Ibero-American reference model.

The Ibero-American Quality Award is organized by the Ibero-American Quality Foundation (FUNDIBEQ) and the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), an organization attached to the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The Ministry of Public Health reports the closure of the Agua Lily bottling plants, located on Avenida Hermanas Mirabal, at the entrance to Colonia Los Doctores, Villa Mella, and Envasadora de Agua Liana, located on 1st Street, corner 6th Street, in Los Guaricanos, in the province of Santo Domingo Norte.

The two water processing and bottling plants were closed for violating the General Health Law 42-01 and it’s Public Health regulation 528-01, according to the Vice Ministry for the Regulation of Products for Human Consumption. It indicates that various pathogens, including pseudomonas, vibrios, and entamoeba histolytica, were detected in the processed water tests.

To prevent the cholera cases that have been reported in the La Zurza sector of the National District, it is reported that they maintain ongoing monitoring operations throughout the National District and the Santo Domingo Norte province.

Santo Domingo, DR
The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MISPAS) confirmed four new cases of Cholera, corresponding to men of 50, 30, 23, and 4 years of age, respectively, all of Dominican nationality and residents of the La Zurza sector of the National District.

The patients were admitted last Thursday, 15 of this month, after presenting with watery diarrhea accompanied by vomiting and dry mouth. They were hydrated and stabilized at the health center, and they immediately proceeded to take stool samples, obtaining a positive result for Cholera on Saturday 17th.

The report certifies that the four patients have not had bowel movements for more than 24 hours; all of them are stable, in good spirits and appetite, and remain in the hospital for observation purposes, with possible discharge in the next few hours.

Likewise, the Health Area IV Directorate, together with the Vice Ministry of Collective Health and the Risk Management and Epidemiology Directorates, is maintaining the epidemiological surveillance, with close relatives, in addition to a permanent intervention in this locality, to detect, prevent and investigate any suspected case of the disease.

At the same time, it is reported as part of the continuous monitoring carried out in vulnerable areas. Specifically, a study of water samples taken at different points of the La Isabela River confirmed the presence of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

In this regard, the authorities of the Ministry of Health urged the population not to be alarmed, to remain attentive to reports, and follow preventive measures such as frequent hand washing, washing food properly, eating well-cooked food, drinking only potable water, and if you present any diarrheal event go to your nearest health center for investigation and timely treatment.

Santo Domingo, DR
The predominant symptoms of the omicron subvariant of Covid 19 circulating in the country in recent weeks are characterized by a clinical presentation very similar to that of a flu-like process, but in some cases, can end up causing pneumonia.

The sensation of coughing, sore throat, general malaise, nasal congestion, tearing, and the feeling of congestion of facial bones can often be accompanied by gastrointestinal manifestations, ranging from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, among the main characteristics of the symptoms presented by patients.

This is explained by the pulmonologist Evangelina Soler, former president of the Dominican Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, who points out the importance of the patient going to the doctor to make an accurate and differential diagnosis since it can be confused with other circulating viruses such as influenza, syncytial, adenovirus and dengue.

Lumbar pain

He said that other symptoms that Covid-19 currently presents are that the patient may have a fever or fever that occurs on one or two occasions, chills, and may have pain in the lumbar region.

The specialist explained that these characteristic symptoms occur in three to four days. After the cytokine storm, which appears on the seventh or eighth day after the onset of the symptoms, the patient may develop pneumonia, with cough and sensation of respiratory difficulty. However, she clarified that this is in the minority of cases.