Black Immigrant Daily News

Prime Minister of St. Lucia Philip Pierre has urged CARICOM member states to redouble efforts towards fixing the region’s transportation issues and removing lingering trade barriers.

The regional leader said last weekend that the absence of any reliable transportation network in and around member states, given the “unfortunate demise of LIAT”, was a major hindrance to modern cooperation which regional leaders need to address as a matter of urgency.

“Travelling around the region has become a nightmare, both from the standpoint of high fares and reduced flight availability. It is having an undermining effect on the economic prospects of the region… This state of affairs must not be allowed to continue for much longer.Addressing the annual Errol Barrow Memorial Lecture hosted by the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus last Friday, Pierre said “The issue of regional air and sea transportation must be approached from the premise that regional transportation is a regional public good, and as such, governments must invest in and finance it because it is a duty they owe the people of the Caribbean.”

Examining the future of CARICOM as it celebrates 50 years and the legacy of Errol Barrow as a Caribbean champion, Pierre noted that though Barrow, along with Prime Ministers Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Michael Manley of Jamaica and Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973 with the intent of creating CARICOM with deeper ties between the islands, this vision has unfortunately been hindered in several areas.

He said that despite the phased approach to freedom of movement throughout the islands, there were still difficulties with national legislation and administrative frameworks falling short of what was required at this stage.

Pierre added: “Regional integration in the Caribbean will never be effective if the people cannot, and do not have the means and the systems to move freely between the islands and to easily communicate between themselves and share their ambitions and their experiences with each other. How can we be serious about building a vibrant regional community and single market, if the people who are the main participants, can not get around the region freely and affordably?”

According to the St Lucia PM, one of the key pillars of CARICOM – economic integration, which is supported by the philosophy of free trade – has also been slow in its adoption across the various member countries to a worrying degree. He stressed that the removal of the current trade barriers between the islands was a must.

“If free trade, therefore, is to be a more significant stimulant to economic development throughout the region, and therefore positively impact the lives and living standards of the peoples of the region, then in the decades ahead CARICOM member states must make a concerted effort to dramatically increase trade by removing the outmoded barriers that still encumber genuine free trade,” he explained.

Pierre also pointed to the colonial era’s influences on economic policies as another factor that needs to be corrected in order to improve the social and economic output of CARICOM.

“There is a school of thought that believes that in the CARICOM context, the freeing of trade among member states is necessary but insufficient to obtain the gains of economic integration. It argues that it also necessitates the removal of colonial economic and social structures and production and consumption patterns that have kept the region at a low level of development.

“It is clear that if CARICOM is to deliver on raising the standards of living of its people, as Errol Barrow had hoped, the deepening of regional integration through the CSME, must proceed at 50 times the pace of integration during the next 50 years.

“We must revisit with some urgency the agreement for a single economy, whose attainment is now a goal on a distant horizon.”Pierre reminded attendees that it was the duty of citizens and leaders within the region, to fully support the true purpose and ideology behind CARICOM, as it will serve as an integral support and development body for all.

“As CARICOM ends the first 50 years of regional integration, I urge all of us, leaders and citizens alike, to adopt the approach of Errol Barrow and the other leaders, that in this journey, the only goal must be to see the Caribbean fully integrated so that in 50 years’ time CARICOM would not have gone, but CARICOM would have become, not a community of states, but a truly integrated community of the peoples of the Caribbean – economically prosperous, socially advanced, culturally confident, and proudly independent.”

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Action for Primates, a UK-based project that campaigns on behalf of non-human primates globally, is urging the Governor of Sint Maarten to abandon plans to kill the entire population of vervets (African green monkeys), believing that such drastic and inhumane action will not only be ineffective, but it will also tarnish the reputation of Sint Maarten as a popular Caribbean holiday destination.

A letter has been sent to Governor Ajamu G. Baly by Dr Nedim Buyukmihci, co-founder of Action for Primates and a veterinarian with many years practical experience working with non-human primates, including reproductive control, as well as advising on education and humane methods of resolving issues related to negative interactions between people and non-human primates.

In the letter, Dr Buyukmihci points out the inhumanity of the capturing and killing of hundreds of vervets, as well as the ineffectiveness of using such lethal means to resolve the issue of conflicts between the monkeys and people. In particular, he noted:

– “It is stated that the vervets in question will be trapped and killed over the next three years. But, as this is being done over this length of time, there will be an increase in pressure for the vervets to reproduce. It is almost certain that there will be a surge in births, increasing the number of individuals.”

– “Regardless of the timeline, however, given the Sint Maarten terrain, it is highly unlikely that every vervet will be captured, allowing those remaining to continue to reproduce.”

– “There is also the issue of vervets residing in neighbouring French St Martin. There will be nothing to keep them from expanding their range into Sint Maarten.”

Instead, Dr Buyukmihci advocates the adoption of measures that can be taken to humanely reduce the negative interactions between vervets and people without having to resort to killing the vervets, and provides a comprehensive review of the issue. Considerations for non-lethal resolution include reproductive control such as sterilisation combined with education programmes to help the public deal with and prevent negative interactions with monkeys.

Rather than dismiss vervets as a ‘pest’ or a nuisance and killing them, Action for Primates appeals to the government and communities of Sint Maarten to adopt a humane approach to the situation.

The fact that vervets are non-native is irrelevant. Not only have they been on Sint Maarten for over 400 years, having been brought there by people, and are now part of the ecosystem, they are living, sentient individuals who share many of the important characteristics we value in ourselves. They experience pain, suffering and distress similarly to people.

It is not their fault that they are there and they should not have to pay for this human-caused problem with their lives. With the globally growing acknowledgement of the negative impact human activities are having on the planet and its inhabitants, it is more important than ever that we reassess the way we not only treat non-human primates, but how we humanely resolve negative interactions.

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today a disbursement of SDR 81.9 million (US$105 million) to Haiti under the Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility[1] to help Haiti address urgent balance of payment needs related to the global food crisis.

Haiti has been hit hard by the global food price shock. Record price inflation has worsened Haiti’s fragility given the high pass through from global to domestic food prices and shortages in food supplies. With more than half the population already below the poverty line, Haiti faces a dire humanitarian crisis, with an expected financing gap in FY2023 of at least US$105 million (0.5 percent of GDP), assuming import compression and pending additional external financing from development partners. This shock compounds the hardships of an already highly fragile country–also suffering a public health emergency (cholera) and serious security risks.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

“Haiti is facing a dire humanitarian crisis and was hit hard by the economic spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These spillovers included record price inflation that worsened Haiti’s fragility and compounded the suffering of Haiti’s population already affected by a severe malnutrition. Measures are being taken by the government to cushion the impact of the food price shocks on the population and to expand the social safety nets.

“IMF emergency support under the food shock window of the Rapid Credit Facility will help fill the balance of payment gap and support those most affected by food price rises through feeding programs and cash and in-kind transfers to vulnerable households, waives school fees and other measures.

“To address the crisis, budgetary resources will need to be allocated toward priority spending on food programs and to increase social assistance toward the most vulnerable. To ensure the appropriate use of emergency financing, which will be vital for catalyzing further donor support and mitigate risks to debt sustainability, the authorities should carefully control, track, record, and publish all spending related to the emergency response. Supported by close Fund engagement, they should undertake internal expenditure audits by all the line ministries involved in the use of emergency resources provided under the food shock window through the General Inspectorate of Finance and communicate these internal audits to the Supreme Audit Court in a timely way.

“The combination of appropriate macroeconomic and structural policies under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) provides additional safeguards for the Fund’s outstanding obligations. While providing adequate liquidity support to the financial sector, the central bank should reduce monetary financing of the deficit and limit foreign exchange interventions to smoothing volatility.

“The SMP is also catalytic to donor support. A successful implementation of Haiti’s SMP would be key in the process of restoring macroeconomic stability and sustainability, strengthening the social safety net, and tackling governance weaknesses and corruption.”

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Despite recent statistics showing that dementia prevalence is set to increase in the Caribbean by 155 per cent by 2050, regional progress in tackling the neurodegenerative condition is far too slow, say Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the global federation for 105 Alzheimer’s and dementia associations across the world.

Only 16 per cent of Caribbean countries and territories have made progress in developing a National Dementia Plan, most of which have inadequate funding.

ADI is calling for the public across the Caribbean to urge their governments to take urgent action on dementia, teaming up with Alzheimer’s associations in Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago to launch a regional campaign ‘What’s Your Plan‘ (#WhatsYourPlan).

Urgent action is required now: Dementia care is a human right

While a few countries in the region, like the Dominican Republic and Cuba have implemented National Dementia Plans, unfortunately most are without adequate funding. The Caribbean ADI members participating in the #WhatsYourPlan campaign are yet to have any fully funded, implemented National Dementia Plan in their countries.

Daisy Acosta, co-founder of The Asociacion Domincana de Alzheimer and former Chair of ADI says that the issue of dementia in the Caribbean is growing.

“Dementia is a real problem in our Caribbean countries. By 2050 almost 750,000 people will be living with dementia in region. Governments are not paying enough attention to because it is often still wrongly considered a normal part of ageing. Well IT IS NOT! Key policies can be taken that can help delay or reduce up to 40 per cent of the number of cases of dementia in the future. I urge our governments to invest now to save later!”

Paola Barbarino, ADI’s CEO, says developing, funding, and implementing National Dementia Plans is essential to improving health outcomes for people living in the Caribbean with dementia.

“A National Dementia Plan is a vital step in helping those living with dementia to have access to the support and services they need to live well, for longer,” says Barbarino. “Access to support and a care plan, including care at home and in community settings, at-home adaptations, and respite for carers, alongside medical treatments, are vital for people living with dementia, as well as their carers and family.”

“By denying Caribbeans across the region this support, governments are doing a disservice to their communities,” says Barbarino. “All people living with dementia in the Caribbean deserve access to the kinds of support and services a National Dementia Plan makes available. It’s their human right.”

As the world’s population gets older, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is rapidly increasing, threatening to overwhelm health services in many countries. In 2019, dementia was ranked the 3rd leading cause of death in the Americas, accounting for over 390,000 deaths.

ADI is calling on people living in Caribbean countries participating in the #WhatsYourPlan campaign to urge their governments to develop a National Dementia Plan that features, improvements in care for those living with dementia, support for carers and to implement key policies to help delay or reduce up to 40 per cent of the possible number of cases of dementia in the future.

“We’re talking with the various Ministries of Health, Age & Social Support in many Caribbean countries, and while in some cases it can lead to progress it is often too slow. For a condition like dementia, time is of the absolute essence. People cannot wait,” says Paola Barbarino. “We need people from all over the Caribbean to speak up for people with dementia so that their governments might actually listen and act.”

Empty promises and blunt tools: Lack of funding stalling progress in the Caribbean

While some progress has been made in developing National Dementia Plans in the Caribbean, Paola Barbarino, ADI Chief Executive Officer, says that a lack of funding for these plans means many communities are missing out.

“A National Dementia Plan is a government’s best tool for preparing for this looming global health crisis,” says Barbarino. “Despite some progress to develop plans in a few Caribbean nations, without adequate funding to implement them, these plans are laying unused on the desks of bureaucracy across the region – more empty promises, and blunt tools.”

“Continued inaction now will lead to much greater health, care and societal challenges in managing dementia later,” continues Barbarino. “Governments must have robust dementia strategies funded and in place, to save healthcare systems from being overwhelmed as dementia cases rise in the future.”

Over 740,000 people: While progress stalls, the number of people in the Caribbean living with dementia continues to soar

The latest estimates show that there will be over 740,000 people living with dementia in the Caribbean by 2050.

Research has found that the greatest risk factors for dementia in the Caribbean include Cardiovascular health, diabetes, family history, older age, education. Further, women with lower levels of education in rural areas are overrepresented in dementia statistics in the Caribbean.

Risk reduction should be designed with a life-course approach in mind, targeting both older and younger populations, with a focus on the modifiable 12 risk factors estimated to contribute to 40 per cent of the cases of those living with dementia.

1 Caribbean territories with Alzheimer’s associations participating in ADI’s ‘What’s Your Plan’ indicated in bold: Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Cura?ao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and United States Virgin Islands.

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The Nature Conservancy is delighted to announce that its proposal “CoralCarib: Pioneering a new strategic approach for conserving and restoring Caribbean coral reef ecosystems that targets Climate Resilient Refugia” to the International Climate Initiative (IKI) has been approved by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) in Germany.

The proposal will be implemented in four target Caribbean countries, including Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, with additional exchanges with Belize over a six-year period with an investment of 6.3 million Euros.

GoalThe goal of the CoralCarib project is to increase marine biodiversity in 1,871 hectares of priority coral reef ecosystems in the four target Caribbean Islands and regionally through scaling.

Through project interventions, healthier and more resilient reefs will provide socio-economic benefits to people living in the coastal zones in these four countries. Specifically, the project states: “Healthier coral reef ecosystems will contribute significantly to increased biodiversity, economic prosperity, food security and social resilience of the selected countries.”

This project will pioneer a new strategic approach focused on “Coral Climate Refugia”, with activities designed to protect, restore, and sustainably use coral reefs with high potential to survive future climate impacts.

Project activitiesSome of the major activities to be undertaken during the project include effective management of marine areas, reducing the threats to coral reefs survival, coral restoration using advanced technologies, promotion of sustainable livelihoods, and a range of scaling activities to achieve region-wide impacts. Under this project, knowledge and experiences related to coral conservation, restoration, and sustainable livelihoods will be also shared with reef conservation partners in Belize.

The project is expected to generate long-term socio-economic benefits to coastal communities across the Caribbean region as a result of improved coral reef health. The benefits will be derived particularly in the form of greater coastal protection from storms and related flooding/shoreline erosion and an economically vibrant coastal tourism sector supported by extensive natural beaches, marine ecotourism, and fresh seafood.

OutcomesThe teams in the four CoralCarib target countries of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica will have numerous resources at their disposal because of the project. These include access to the methods and results of Coral Climate Refugia mapping, coral restoration methods, protocols, spawning calendars, online monitoring platforms, and a coral monitoring analytic toolbox. Several important coral restoration and monitoring tools will be produced and made freely accessible to be shared with the broader coral restoration community.

CoralCarib is a joint program being implemented by a Consortium of four partners: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Fundaci?n Dominicana de Estudios Marinos (FUNDEMAR), Fundaci?n Grupo Puntacana (FGPC), and Alligator Head Foundation (AHF). The Consortium will also work with several implementing partner organizations in the target countries, including the Acuario Nacional de Cuba (ANC), Centro para la Conservaci?n y Ecodesarrollo de la Bah?a de Saman? y su Entorno (CEBSE), Haiti Ocean Project (HOP), Initiative pour l’Environnement et le D?veloppement Int?gr? en Ha?ti (IEDIH), and the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The Caribbean has ten percent of the world’s coral reefs, with 60% of the region’s reefs found in the four target countries. However, live coral cover has declined 60% in the past 20 years due to climate change and a range of other factors.

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