RTC Director

World Bank warns A&B of effects of climate change

A new World Bank report is warning Antigua & Barbuda and other Caribbean countries to plan for “catastrophic” climate change consequences. The study said the poorest will be the worst affected.

The research said if the sea continues to rise at the current rate, salt-water erosion and coastal flooding will be major concerns.

It notes that 70 per cent of the Caribbean population lives on the coast, which is also of vital importance for the region’s economy. The report noted, to begin with, there is more flooding to come.

World Bank Climate Change expert Jerry Meier told the international body that in the region, there is a lack of knowledge about floodplains and a lack of exclusion zones.

“There is a lack of knowledge about the floodplains and there aren’t any exclusion zones, so the situation will stay the same,” Meier warns.

Another grave challenge highlighted is coastal erosion. The report said, given that the majority of the region’s capital cities, ports and airports are to be found on the coast, this is a serious threat for the development for a region with deep ties to the sea.

Coastal erosion caused by rising sea levels is also listed as a real threat for the tourist industry.

The World Bank adds the Caribbean faces the problem of salt-water infiltration into its freshwater.

by RTC Director

Caribbean countries to benefit from new health initiative with Canada

Caribbean countries, limited in the care they offer for specialized nature of childhood cancer, have welcomed an initiative involving the University of the West Indies (UWI), The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada, and the Centre for Global Child Health.

 Health Minister John Boyce, speaking at the launch of the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative, said that due to the specialised nature of childhood cancer, Caribbean countries were limited in the care that they offered.

“Our shortcomings include limited paediatric pathological expertise to assist in diagnosis, staging and treatment modules; availability of specific drugs which may be imported to treat particular cancers which require interventions; and the lack of a targeted linear accelerator which will reduce the side effects of radiation therapy. The establishment of the Shaw Family Telemedicine Room, therefore, addresses some of our limitations.”

The Telemdicine Room at the UWI Clinical Skills Building, will house the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative, launched in Toronto, Canada, earlier this year, and works with stakeholders across the English-speaking Caribbean to improve the outcomes and quality of life for children with cancer and blood disorders, as well as their families.

Boyce said the initiative provide the delivery of clinical care to persons who would otherwise require transfer overseas for consultation.

“The health profile of children in the English-speaking Caribbean reflects a picture of overall good health. This is supported by the child health programmes which support the healthy growth and development of children under five years of age and aim to protect them from vaccine-preventable diseases through immunization.

“Unfortunately, there are some medical conditions to which children and adolescents may be susceptible which cannot be prevented, treated or cured by vaccines or other low cost interventions.

“These may result from genetic predisposition and autoimmune response, environmental factors and in many cases, unknown causes. Amongst such diseases are diabetes, respiratory illnesses… mental and physical disabilities, lupus, sickle cell disease and cancer,” he said.

Boyce said that there was an average of eight to 10 childhood cancer cases annually in Barbados.

“The average survival rate is 75 per cent and this represents the cases that are cured,” Boyce said, noting that each case of childhood cancer was “a very personal tragedy that can strike any family with children at anytime and anywhere.

 “This facility offers connectivity with overseas medical specialists that will assist doctors resident here in Barbados with continuing education and offer support to parents and doctors managing sick children.

He said family and medical staff would have access to a team of medical experts in the diagnosis and treatment options that are available”.

by RTC Director

Colombia unveils Farc plot to kill ex-president Uribe

The Colombian government says it has unveiled a plot by the country's largest rebel group, the Farc, to kill the former president, Alvaro Uribe.

Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the assassination was due to be carried out by a rebel column operating in central Colombia.

Mr Pinzon said security around the former president had been reinforced.

Mr Uribe is an outspoken critic of the current peace process between the rebels and the government.

Mr Pinzon said he had met Mr Uribe, who is running for the Senate in next year's elections, to inform him of the threat.

The assassination was being plotted by the Farc's Teofilo Forero Mobile Column, under the command of a rebel known as Paisa, said Mr Pinzon.

Mr Uribe's father was killed by the Farc in 1983 in a failed kidnapping attempt.

During Mr Uribe's two terms in office, from 2002 to 20010, the Colombian army inflicted heavy defeats on the rebels.

The peace talks were launched a year ago in the Cuban capital, Havana.

They are aimed at ending five decades of bloody conflict, with the left-wing rebels agreeing to give up their armed struggle and join the legal political process.

Agreement has been reached so far on land reform and political participation - two of the six issues being discussed.

The other four items on the peace agenda are disarmament, illicit drugs, rights of the victims and peace deal implementation.

But fighting has carried on despite the talks. President Juan Manuel Santos's government has refused to agree to a ceasefire, as requested by the rebels, saying it would only help them regroup and rearm.

Five decades of internal conflict in Colombia have led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

A study by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory suggests 220,000 people have died in the violence.

by RTC Director

Venezuelan President Maduro 'to expand price controls'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he plans to extend price controls to all consumer goods, if he is given powers to govern by decree.

In a televised address, Mr Maduro said that he wanted to set legal limits on businesses' profit margins.

His announcement followed the seizure on Saturday of shops accused of selling electronic goods at inflated prices.

The National Assembly is expected to vote this week on his request to govern temporarily by decree.

The president demanded there be "zero tolerance with speculators" in his speech broadcast on Sunday. "This is beyond usury, this is theft," he added.

On the weekend, soldiers occupied a chain of shops selling electronic goods which, according to Mr Maduro, had sold items at vastly inflated prices.

Hundreds of people flocked to the Daka stores after they were forced by the government to sell their goods at lower prices, some of them at a quarter of the price listed earlier in the week.

by RTC Director