“Grenada’s history and traditional wealth is based on being an agrarian nation where agriculture and agro-processing were key drivers”

View the full post Agro Processing, Agriculture 2.0 on NOW Grenada.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported the […]

“All the actors had the opportunity to broadly express their points of view respectfully, all their aspirations are legitimate, and now we must try to validate those aspirations with the realities and the public sector’s willingness to build solutions,” said Labor Minister Luis Miguel De Camps after the meeting.

De Camps, president of the CNSS, was accompanied by Daniel Rivera, Minister of Public Health, in a meeting that produced no results. The CMD’s president, Senén Caba, did not attend the meeting, and the doctors’ position is that they will not provide consultation services to ARS affiliates tomorrow and Friday. “With the realization of this first meeting, the dialogue table was formed; we send a clear signal that President Luis Abinader’s Government intends to respond responsibly and quickly to the claims of the sectors,” De Camps added, announcing that an upcoming meeting will be held after “consultations” between the sectors.

Representatives from the CMD, the ARS, the Health Service Providers (PDSS), and the Dominican Association of Private Clinics (Andeclip) attended the meeting. Similarly, the Directorate of Information and Defense of Social Security Affiliates (DIDA), the Dominican Institute for Prevention and Protection of Occupational Risks (Idoppril), and the Security Treasury Social.

Related:

Medical College announces indefinite suspension for Mapfre and other ARS

Nearly half of the world's population, or 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral diseases, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The most common oral illnesses are tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers, with untreated tooth decay affecting nearly 2.5 billion people, the United Nations agency said.

About 380,000 new cases of oral cancers are diagnosed every year, it said.

HAITI SEES A SURPRISE RETURN OF CHOLERA, AS A GANG BLOCKADE CAUSES A SHORTAGE OF DRINKING WATER

WHO cited large out-of-pocket expenditure and the unavailability of highly specialized dental equipment in primary healthcare facilities as two of the reasons for the high prevalence of oral diseases, especially in poor countries.

"Oral health has long been neglected in global health, but many oral diseases can be prevented," said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The agency suggested countries include equitable oral health services as part of their national planning and integrate oral health services into their primary health care models, while also improving access to affordable fluoride toothpaste, among other measures.

“Sandals Foundation and Catherine Cecilia Foundation gifts learning and play resources to schools”

View the full post Strengthening the power of play on NOW Grenada.

Barbados needs a sustainable healthcare financing plan, given the significant issues plaguing the sector, says Minister of Health, Senator The Most Honourable Dr Jerome Walcott.

And that plan, he said on Tuesday, could potentially result in the Government broadening the tax system from which healthcare is partially funded.

He made the disclosure on day one of the four-day International Review of Health Financing Reform Options in Barbados at the Hilton Hotel.

During the event, hosted in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the Pan American Health Organisation, Minister Walcott said the island’s healthcare system was under strain and there was a need for a sustainable reformative framework.

“ . . . Several challenges still remain. These include an ageing population, with over 13 per cent above the age of 65, an increasing presence of non-communicable diseases, the occurrence of new and reemerging communicable diseases, the rise in injuries due to accidents and unlawful behaviour, the public’s expectations of services on par with industrialised countries and an ageing QEH [Queen Elizabeth Hospital] plant and other health infrastructure.

“In these circumstances, we found the current model of health financing has become a pressing priority due to the increasing cost of public health care services in Barbados caused by a combination of demand and supply side factors,” he said.

The Health Minister said Barbados was committed to achieving universal health services and delivering quality health services, noting that the island had adopted the Beveridge model.

Under that model, he explained, the Government provides health care for all citizens which is financed from the Consolidated Fund and a health levy collected by the National Insurance Scheme.

“Any decline in the revenue intake of Government would be reflected in a reduced allocation to the health sector, hence, an important part of the search for a new model of health financing,” Minister Walcott said.

He added that the Government would consider all options to ensure it can provide quality services, including adjusting the tax collection system.

“There is also a need to strengthen domestic tax systems and ensure that health remains a priority in resources being allocated. This is not a unique role of the health sector; therefore, there is need for a whole-of-government approach to include other sectors and ministries such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the intimate working group we have established to garner support from the other strategic partners both locally and overseas,” he said.

The Health Minister pointed out that the health sector played a significant role in the development of the economy, as it creates jobs, drives productivity, stimulates inclusive growth and protects the economy from the impacts of outbreaks and other emergencies.

That is why, he said, it was important for the island to invest in building a resilient health system based on strong primary health care.

Referencing the World Health Report in 2010, Minister Walcott said that 20 to 40 per cent of global resources allocated to health care were being wasted, noting that the report emphasised the need to promote efficiency.

He said Barbados was taking the necessary steps to ensure it ran its healthcare sector efficiently by engaging the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in carrying out a study to develop programme unit costs.

Other initiatives to address inefficiencies include significant improvement in the regulatory functions, strategic and effective purchasing of health inputs, comprehensive review and improvement of human practices, and effective separation of regulatory functions from the provisions of services where appropriate.

Barbados is also taking other steps such as strengthening health information systems, reforming the Barbados Drug Service and implementing performance reviews and development systems.

Minister Walcott said that based on additional health financing work conducted last November, there were four key highlights that must inform the development of a proper health finance framework for Barbados.

He said health financing must assist in controlling morbidity; medical services and other service delivery systems must be geared toward the effective utilisation of best practices to ensure efficient use of scarce resources; equity of access must become a reality within the healthcare system as the population must be shielded from catastrophic healthcare expenditure; and resilience must be built into the healthcare system, given prospects of natural disasters and pandemics affecting the Caribbean.

The Health Minister said those events had the potential to cripple the economy and an emergency fund must be developed. (SZB)

The post Gov’t considering health financing options appeared first on Barbados Today.

“Offering this free service in St David is important because of the number of Grenadians living with this chronic non-communicable disease”

View the full post St David: Free Diabetes Clinic on NOW Grenada.

View the full post CT Scan and Dialysis fees from EC$125 to EC$3,500 on NOW Grenada.

Care Transition Clinic has been in operation for the past 2 years and offers services that have positively impacted patients' health

View the full post Care Transition Clinic reduces hospital re-admissions on NOW Grenada.

The rains facilitate the spread of the transmitting mosquito, Aedes aegypti, according to a report published last weekend by the National Directorate of Epidemiology, which corresponds to epidemiological week number 43 (EW 43), which records 8,340 accumulated cases and 43 deaths, compared to 2,436 cases and 21 deaths in the same period last year. EW 43 collects from October 23 to Saturday 29 of the same month, so rains recorded on consecutive days, as well as those generated by the deluge of last November 4, when the Dominican capital was flooded, are excluded. As a result, experts advise families to take preventive measures and seek medical attention if symptoms such as fever, headaches, bone pain, pain behind the eyes and joints, loss of appetite, and decay occur.

Dengue fever affects 66% of those under the age of 19, with the capital being the hardest hit, followed by Azua, Bahoruco, and Barahona. To date, 185 cases of leptospirosis, which is commonly transmitted by water contaminated with the urine of infected animals, particularly rats, have been reported, with nine cases detected in EW 43 and 22 deaths. The figures are lower than last year, when 29 people died from this cause.

Malaria cases were confirmed during EW 43, four of which correspond to the San Juan de la Maguana focus, two imported from Africa, and one from Azua. “Until this week, cases totaled 290, corresponding to 71% (205/290) of the cases, due to the active focus of San Juan… The Ministry of Public Health maintains an active community search for feverish people, treatment, and investigation of identified cases,” the report states.