Black Immigrant Daily News

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As monkeypox cases continue to rise in several countries of the Americas, Member States of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) held a Special Session of the Directing Council on Friday to consider a Resolution to address the outbreak, including supporting equitable access to vaccines for at-risk populations in the region.

On 23 July 2022, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak, which began in mid-May and has affected 89 countries across all six WHO regions, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Around 10,000 monkeypox infections have been reported by 24 countries of the Americas since the start of the outbreak. This accounts for 36% of global cases.

“The PHEIC declaration came with detailed recommendations for both countries and territories who haven’t detected any cases as well as for those who already have imported cases or transmission in their communities,” said PAHO Director, Carissa Etienne.

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“We believe that when the recommended measures are appropriately implemented, we can stop transmission of the monkeypox virus.”

These recommendations, which PAHO is working with Member States to implement, include communication and engagement with affected communities, early detection and surveillance, treatment and isolation of patients, and contact tracing.

However, “post- or pre-exposure vaccination might need to complement the other measures,” the Director added.

During the session, Dr. Etienne noted that there is currently only one third-generation vaccine for monkeypox, which is produced by just one manufacturer.

While supplies of this vaccine are extremely limited, PAHO has engaged in early negotiations with its manufacturer.

In light of this, the Resolution adopted requests PAHO’s Director to facilitate a coordinated response and take steps to support Member States in obtaining access to this vaccine through the PAHO Revolving Fund. It also requests that countries of the Region of the Americas continue to recognize PAHO and its Revolving Fund as the strategic regional technical mechanism most suitable for providing equitable access to this vaccine and others.

The recommendations of PAHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Vaccine Preventable Diseases, as well as those of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), stipulate that countries should prioritize vaccines for specific groups, such as close contacts of a confirmed monkeypox case, in order to maximize impact considering the limited vaccine supply.

Monkeypox disease

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Symptoms include fever, intense headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle ache, and a rash that blisters and crusts. The rash tends to be concentrated on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The mouth, genitals, and eyes may also be affected.

The symptoms can be mild or severe, and generally last for several weeks during which time a person can be infectious to others. Most people recover within a few weeks without treatment.

Monkeypox disease is reported regularly in nine countries of Central and West Africa since it was first recognized in 1958 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, since mid-May 2022, an increasing number of monkeypox cases have been reported first in multiple countries in Europe and later in other regions, including the Americas.

As of 4 August 2022, 26,326 probable and laboratory-confirmed cases were reported to the WHO from 89 countries across all six WHO regions.

Source: Pan American Health Organization/SLT

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Black Immigrant Daily News

La Policía investiga el robo de 20 perfumes de la tienda Victoria Secret de Plaza Las Américas en Hato Rey, a eso de las 7:00 de la noche del viernes.

Según el reporte de las autoridades, los perfumes fueron valorados en 1,279 dólares.

Agentes adscritos a la División de Propiedad del Cuerpo de Investigaciones Criminales de San Juan investigan.

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PARAMARIBO — De coalitietop is enkele maanden geleden al gestart met de discussie rondom herziening van het kiesstelsel en de

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Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that the political consensus around sustainable fiscal management to be Jamaica’s most significant achievement of the past 10 years.

Holness made the declaration during Friday’s special joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives to mark Jamaica’s 60th Anniversary of Independence.

He said the achievement which spans political administrations, started in 2010 with the fiscal responsibility framework which was later enshrined in law with the fiscal rules amendment in 2014.

“In 2021, this Administration went one step further to strengthen our sustainable fiscal management by passing legislation to create another institution, an independent Fiscal Commission,” said the prime minister. This, he said will complement the passage of legislation to create an independent central bank.

Said Holness: “This institution will effectively insulate our fiscal management from the vagaries of exploitative and opportunistic political forces who would want to go off on a spending frolic without regard to the effects of high debt.”

The prime minister said he understood that many Jamaicans may not immediately feel or appreciate the benefit of sustainable fiscal management. However, he argued that the economic buffers that were established as a result of good fiscal management, “have enabled us to withstand back-to-back global shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.”

Holness said that “having worked so hard across political administrations to build this consensus on sustainable fiscal management, we must strongly and resolutely resist any temptation to reverse course.”

“Instead, in our 60th year of political independence, we must be determined to complete our journey to full independence by achieving economic independence,” he emphasised.

He added that “When the next generation looks back at this time decades from now, let them say that this was the point that Jamaica achieved a significant milestone in our development and a turning point in our economy.”

The prime minister told the House and Senate that the country is already seeing the resilience in the economy with unemployment at its lowest levels in recorded history.

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A lease agreement between the Barbuda Fisher Folk Committee and the Barbuda Council is in its final stages of preparation, and will allow the sister-island to export lobster to international and other regional destinations.

Since Hurricane Irma in 2017, Barbuda has been experiencing challenges in reviving its lobster-export industry.

Senator Fabian Jones, who is responsible for the fisheries sector on the sister-island, reports that the lobster season reopened on July 1 with shipments being exported to Antigua some days after.

Meanwhile, Jones says, the Fisher Folk Committee was in negotiations for the lease, which would allow it to use a part of the Fisheries Complex to facilitate shipping to other destinations.

However, while these discussions are in their final stages, the space originally requested is not available, so an alternate space is being assessed, Jones says.

Meanwhile, in terms of storage for the lobsters, fish and other marine products, Jones admits that this continues to be an issue. A part that was ordered to fix the freezer has not yet arrived on island, although the order was placed several weeks ago, he says.

Jones says a technician from the Fisheries Department in Antigua recently visited the sister island, and he should be dispatching a list of the items needed to address the current issues. – REAL NEWS

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