Climate Change is a global emergency, yet few countries have made plans to face it. Barbados Ministry of Health and Wellness staff and allied sectors recently met at the Accra Beach Resort in Barbados, to understand how climate change is affecting public health in the country, a first step in the creation of a Health National Adaptation Plan (H-NAP). 

The process to assess vulnerabilities and prioritize ways to manage or minimize the impacts of climate change in an area is called adaptation planning. H-NAPs consider the impact of climate change on people’s mental and physical health, and the social effects. These plans present actions to build climate-resilient health systems that can anticipate and protect public health. 

Barbados’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kenneth George, participated in the one-day meeting and took the opportunity to thank PAHO for its commitment to the development of the HNAPs. Meanwhile Acting PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados, Dr Prabhjot Singh said that climate change does affect public health directly and urgent action is required.

Under the European Union-funded CARIFORUM Climate Change and Health project, coordinated by the PAHO/WHO Caribbean Subregional Program Coordination Office, Grenada and St Lucia have completed the H-NAP and plans are underway in Belize, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana and the Dominican Republic. Dr Alison Gajadhar, lead consultant for the development of the HNAP in Barbados stated that she was impressed by the level of participation and engagement of public health experts in Barbados.

The final HNAP Report will include key recommendations to inform the development of policy, strategy and plans and programmes to assist countries in the process of adaptation.  For more information on the project and the progress with the H-NAPs please visit the project website.

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By Anesta Henry

The Barbados Union of Teachers’ (BUT) plea for additional psychologists to be placed in schools has received full support from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development Shawn Clarke.
He told Barbados TODAY that he has been advocating for more psychologists in schools since the resumption of face-to-face classes following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clarke, whose organisation manages an anti-bullying prevention programme in several secondary schools, said that as far as he was aware, the Ministry of Education recently placed counsellors and safety officers at some schools.
Addressing Monday’s opening of the BUT’s Annual General Conference at the Radisson Aquatica, President Rudy Lovell said that with the increase in the incidents of violence in schools, the Ministry of Education urgently needed to hire additional psychologists since the present complement was woefully inadequate.
Lovell, who also called for an increased effort to provide psychological support to at-risk students and their parents, suggested that more guidance counsellors, support services, and safety officers should be assigned to schools.
In a response, Clarke said “I do think that the services of more psychologists are needed to help with our young people. And I have been saying that the Government doesn’t need to do it on their own, everybody doesn’t need to be an employee of the Ministry of Education.
“We have enough non governmental organisations in Barbados that have access to psychologists and psychiatrists and professional development counsellors on their teams that can partner with the Ministry of Education to make these services readily available to students,” he said.
“We just need to sit at the table and come up with a way that is workable and that is mutually beneficial to both parties.”
Clarke queried whether the psychologists and counsellors in the school system are equipped with the resources to provide the intense intervention that many at-risk students need. Students need to be assigned to a psychologist for at least three years, as opposed to just for a six-week term or an academic year, he added.
“The question is are the psychologists who are in the schools adequately prepared to see one child for that extended period? Secondly, with an enrolment of almost 1 000 students at schools, some of these psychologists and counsellors, are attached to two schools.
“Counsellors now have 2 000 students when you look at it. Do they have access to the facilities to be able to do prolonged counselling? For a lot of these children, a six-week fix is no fix.”
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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The spate of fires across the island in recent weeks has led the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) to develop a system to update the public on air quality.
CIMH climatologist Dr Cedric Van Meerbeeck says the online monitoring system has been created in collaboration with various agencies.
“Air pollution, as you know, comes from different sources. The ones we have been suffering from in the last two months were smoke from wildfires, brush fires, cane fires and grass fires. I just want you to know that the CIMH is on top of it. We have noticed it. We have worked together with different agencies and we now have a monitoring product that we will put online for everybody to use, so that you know how bad the situation is at this time because there are things you can do to protect yourself,” he said.
Dr Van Meerbeeck was responding to a question posed by a member of the audience at a panel discussion hosted by the CIMH in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, on Tuesday night, at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management.
Senior scientist in the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory Dr. Roger Pulwarty highlighted that individuals’ health can be compromised by the combination of various pollutants in the atmosphere.
“When you add Saharan dust, when you add smoke and you add this especially indoor combination, you’re actually compounding health risks that cannot be separated immediately and that’s something we need to address,” he said.
“The complexity of the mixed pollutants [is] really the issue.”
(JB)

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Women with mental health and addiction issues are knocking on the doors of the Substance Abuse Foundation Inc.’s (SAF) Marina House treatment facility for help.

However, many of them have had to delay the start of treatment because they do not have a support system to adequately care for their children while they are at the New Castle, St John residential facility, according to Senior Mental Health and Addiction Counsellor with SAF, Letitia Wiltshire.

“There is a 100 per cent huge demand for our services and that has actually increased post-COVID. The issues are still there with regards to our women and the child care challenges a lot of them have. Yes, they may need the help with their addiction but they also do not want to leave their children,” said Wiltshire who explained this was why Marina House has previously partnered with the Women of Purpose organisation to provide the resources to allow a mother to have her child with her while accessing treatment.

She appealed to other agencies and charitable organisations to assist women in this position who were seeking to beat drug, sex and gambling addictions.

The counsellor stressed that a significant aspect of the healing process for mothers seeking addiction counselling was having the peace of mind that their children were being well taken care of.

“The women also need the assistance of their family members and those community members who are open to fostering a child for a period of time. We know that it is a big ask of the community; a lot of people would not feel comfortable engaging children who are not their own. But at the end of the day, it takes a village to raise a child and if one of us is sick then, unfortunately, the child can also eventually be sick. When one person with an addiction is sick, it impacts several other persons within that family, so you can do the maths.

“We have a facility that houses 16 women, so if you do the maths and you multiply that by seven, you see how many people are impacted by just one woman not being able to get the help that she needs,” she said.

Wiltshire spoke about the issue during an interview with the media on Tuesday, following the launch of the Rotary Club of Barbados’ Save, Spend, Thrive: Empowering Women Through Financial Wellness initiative, at the Christies Conference Room at the Barbados Light & Power Company, Garrison, St Michael.

“We have dealt with women who have substance abuse issues, women who have challenges with sex addiction, there are women who have challenges with gambling,” she said, noting many women had reached out during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were going through “a depressive phase” and “coming out of COVID, it is still there”.

“So we also deal with self-esteem issues and we are also helping persons with depression. Whatever the need is in terms of mental health we are there to provide that assistance,” the SAF counsellor said.

Wiltshire also noted that given the reported increase in domestic violence cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marina House had housed several women waiting to be admitted to the shelter for battered women.

“We would never turn our backs on someone who needs assistance, regardless of what the challenges are. We are going to try to help them to fill that gap until they can get to where they need,” she said.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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Amber Cumberbatch’s goal is to empower young women.
The former athlete turned coach believes her life’s purpose is helping athletes, especially females, to reach their greatest heights on and off the track.
“A big part of what makes me happy in life is training and coaching girls and women into becoming the athletes that they are. I believe that regardless of your age, your experience, your goals, your history, that in every person there is an athlete just waiting and wanting to be released,” Cumberbatch told Barbados TODAY in a recent interview.
“However, we all know that it takes applied effort, strength and determination for this to come alive and grow and my purpose and passion as a coach is to lift women up to that place of understanding and coach them into becoming fit, fast and strong.
“My mission is to help groom girls and women into unleashing their inner athlete and start living a more active and good life through movement and exercise,” she added.
Cumberbatch’s journey as a fitness coach began in 2014.
She said since then she had witnessed many of her clients experience a positive mind shift during their sessions.
“The feeling is so alive and refreshing and I didn’t want to keep it to myself anymore, so that’s when I stepped out of my usual set up of training alone and stepped into the life of guiding and coaching others into their journey in movement and exercise,” she added.
Cumberbatch represented Barbados at regional track and field events which earned her a full athletic scholarship to Missouri State University in the United States.
This fitness expert spoke also about how she initially started coaching and the rush of excitement she gets from working with children.
“I initially started out training adults, but recently I have been working with kids who have an interest in running or just overall fitness and to be honest, working with these kids brings so much joy to my life and I always look forward to our training sessions,” Cumberbatch explained.
“I have been told that I’m a very loving and easy person to be around and because I love people and enjoy taking care of their journey in fitness, along with my fun and variety focused programmes, many of my students remain with me over the years and we’ve built a close family connection at the same time.”
Cumberbatch admitted that seeing the results from her client’s hard work and dedication was especially rewarding.
“I enjoy seeing the results and when I see the transformation happen in my students it re-ignites the fire that I have for coaching. Sometimes, it even brings tears to my eyes in my quiet times of reflection. It really wows me when I see them improve and hit their new targets,” she said.
Cumberbatch revealed that she got involved in track and field from the age of eight and has no plans on stopping any time soon.
She said even during the Covid-19 pandemic was in-person training was prohibited, she found ways to continue her training.
“COVID-19 stole the atmosphere of in-person training and I surmounted this new way of life by being extra creative. I took my classes online and worked in the virtual world until the all clear was given to be outdoors,” she pointed out.
As for her inspiration, she says that she looks up to one “superwoman,” her mother Michelle Cumberbatch, who she described as extremely strong and resilient.
“She always motivates me to grow without any barriers,” she said putting it simply.
(MR)

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Public health authorities are stepping up their surveillance of food establishments across Barbados as the country battles a significant outbreak in the highly-infectious gastroenteritis disease.

Expressing concern at cases which have increased some seven-fold between the end of January and March this year, when compared to the same period last year, Chief Medical Officer (CMO)  The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George is pleading with Barbadians not to take any chances.

“We have surveillance systems for gastroenteritis and this is how we know what is happening. Our surveillance systems have indicated that there has been an uptick not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector. This public health issue is becoming a concern,” Dr George told Barbados TODAY on Thursday.

“The Ministry of Health has been observing over the last two to three months an increase in the number of cases of gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is an infectious and inflammatory disease of the bowels and it may include the stomach and the intestine, and the symptoms tend to be vomiting and diarrhea. Gastroenteritis is caused mainly by bacterial and viral infection,” he explained.

With cases reaching 312 so far this year as compared to 42 for the corresponding period in 2022, the Government’s chief medical advisor said while tests have not identified any single source or event for the illness, foodborne pathogens have been seen in some areas. He also noted that no corresponding increase in respiratory diseases has been identified during the past several months.

“What I will say is that we have done the appropriate culture of specimen, and that has indicated that there is no particular one organism or no particular point source for the infection. Therefore, we will continue to monitor the situation,” the CMO stated.

There were 19 reported cases at the end of January this year and 47 at the end of March.

“Gastroenteritis is a preventable public health disease. This is the time when people are preparing a lot of food and selling a lot of food…they need to be particularly vigilant to ensure that infections are not increasing,” Dr George advised.

The CMO had a special message for people who prepare food, especially those in public spaces.

“First, handwashing is critical to prevent infection. Remember these infections are termed faeco-oral…there is contamination of the food that we eat…and that leads to the multiplication of bacteria and the presentation of symptoms. Raw foods should not be mixed with cooked foods. There should not be any cross-contamination between raw foods and cooked foods,” he pointed out.

The CMO also urged food handlers to pay special attention to the cleanliness of their utensils and the equipment on which the foods are prepared.

“In addition, the rule of thumb is that hot foods are kept hot and cold foods are kept cold. Cold foods should be maintained at a temperature of no less than 40 degrees fahrenheit and hot foods should be maintained at a temperature of above 140 degrees fahrenheit. If it is not done in this way and the foods are left for a period of time, the multiplication of the bacteria in the foods becomes higher.

“You have to be more careful that when food is particularly on the outside and waiting to be served, it needs to be kept at the appropriate temperature,” the CMO recommended.

He also warned people who prepare food they must have a health certificate and if preparation is done in a restaurant, that establishment needs to have a licence as required by law.

Dr George also appealed to people who contract gastro to report to any polyclinic or their private physician for guidance on the most appropriate actions to be taken.

“Many times antibiotic medicines are not required for gastroenteritis. On most occasions, antibiotics are not required. Persons need to maintain their hydration, and try to stay away from milk products and very greasy or oily foods,” he stated.

Dr George noted that while children under five years of age have contracted the illness, most of the cases have occurred in people over five.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Nicholai Peters

Self-care, self-care; self-care. The words we so often overlook. I can attest that life indeed can change in the blink of an eye. Plagued by detrimental thoughts, plagued with distrust, plagued with anxiety – these are a few things that life threw at me simultaneously. Never in my life could I have imagined being crippled by the aforementioned. During this time, it can feel like there is no one to turn to and surely no way out. This is far from the truth, but perception in this state can be overwhelming and also tainted, which leads to that thought process. 

What is mental health? It’s the thing that should be paramount in our lives. What does it mean to you? In my situation, dealing with my mental health meant hiding from everyone and everything I loved, as I was so terrified of being vulnerable. On one hand, time for yourself can be necessary and beneficial, but in the same breath there’s such a thing as excessive ‘introspection’, which can lead to darker thoughts and, subsequently, depression. I’m no psychologist, but what I do know is don’t become engulfed in your issues. Don’t shut everyone out. After all, the people around you or those who express concern cannot empathize with what they do not know. Regarding friends and empathy, another lesson is to be gentle with yourself and the process of some people understanding your situation, considering not everyone will have the same reaction or ‘lenience’ as it pertains to your situation.  

In the space of six months, I was hospitalized on three occasions. No one likes to or wants to go to the hospital, but my health had plummeted to lows I didn’t know were possible. God knows how many plans I had, how many things I wanted to make a reality. I’ve never seen so many doctors in my life, I almost thought it was an ‘episode’ of Grey’s Anatomy. In all seriousness, I never thought my brain could collapse to the point that I couldn’t walk for a period of time or even hold objects without shaking. Quite frankly, I thought I was dying on multiple occasions. All of this at the age of 20, fresh off the best/most productive summer I’ve ever had. Why was this happening to me? Why me, of all the people I know and in my age group?

From mould poisoning to this other diagnosis, to yet another diagnosis – it all felt like my world was crashing in front of my eyes. For so long, I couldn’t recognize the man in the mirror anymore. 

I thank God for placing the correct people in my life to help me recover. I’m not where I want to be, whether it be academically, socially, but most important of all, my health. Every day, I try to challenge myself to do something out of my new but temporary normal to expedite the recovery process. From not walking, talking or eating, to finally being able to do said things and pick back up the pen and paper (quite literally). I was scared, petrified really, to try again. 

The lines and my vision had gotten so blurry I didn’t know where to start. In recent times, I’d met a few people who seemed to be genuinely invested in me, but the natural self-sabotage I engaged in always led to my demise. 

I don’t want to be the boy that ‘burns down the village because they didn’t embrace him’ anymore… as I quoted in my youth parliament speech quite some time ago… Everything I’ve said thus far, whether publicly or in private, it’s been about my personal struggle to find my way from the back of society to trying to become a beacon of hope for people like me. I know relatively good times, but I also know struggle all too well. Every time I thought I was making progress, I hit a wall again. I’m trying my best to be the man God, my family and friends know I can be. The only fear I have in this life is not being able to reward my family and friends for all they have done. I have to figure this out if I’m to give them the life they deserve. 

I’ll leave you with this, check in on a friend, whether old or young. Mental health struggles are more prevalent than some of us can imagine. 

Only God and time will tell what becomes of Nicholai Peters… the boy they overlooked. 

Nicholai Peters, man of the people and for the people.

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Local officials are calling on Barbadians to use the state-issued roll-out garbage cart and recycling bins correctly especially in light of a reported increase in the rat problem on the island.

Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer Ronald Chapman told Barbados TODAY that ministry officials were very concerned with the way some Barbadians were using the new collection carts, which are part of the Residential Waste Collection Improvement Project. 

“What we have been finding is that persons have been keeping the bins at their premises and continuing to put the garbage next to the street and at the curb. This has been causing us a spot of bother, because those bins are constructed in such a way, that they do not allow for rodents to get in, [and] they are hard enough that the rodents can not gnaw through them.

“When persons continue to use the old plastic bins, the 65 gallon drums with the holes at the bottom, or continue to put the garbage next to the road, then they provide sufficient food for the rodents because now the feral chickens pick it out, the dogs pull it out, and the rats have a feast,” Chapman said.   

Though communities around the island have access to these new bins, Chapman charged that some residents were refusing to use them for garbage-collecting purposes, and even went as far as just dumping their refuse on the sides of roads, in the hope that it would be collected by the SSA.

“Don’t put the garbage next to the road anymore because the [SSA workers] are not collecting it. It’s just going to sit there next to the road and cause us lots and lots of problems and it makes no sense having these state-of-the-art garbage bins tucked away in your backyard, and then the garbage next to the road, where you have to pass to get into your home.”

He stressed: “This is an issue that is contributing to the number of rodents that we are having here on the island, it is contributing to the fly breeding as well. You get a state-of-the-art bin, use it for what it was intended for, that is to store your refuse until the Sanitation Service Authority can pass and collect it.”

Chapman noted, that while some older members of the society may have difficulty moving the bins from their residences to the corner in areas where SSA trucks cannot easily access, they can leave the bins at the corner where the refuse would be collected. 

“We encourage persons like that to leave the bin at the corner, nobody is going to steal it, everybody has bins. I think some people when they got the bins, they treat them like they are too good for garbage… they are there to put refuse in, and put it in such a way that restricts flies, rodents and other vermin and stops the fowls and dogs from getting to the garbage.

Public Relations Officer with the SSA Carl Padmore, supported Chapman’s comments appealing for a more considerate disposal of garbage.

“We want Barbadians to treat to waste in a decent and sensible manner,” he said. (SB)

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By Jenique Belgrave

Former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is not in favor of any plan to relocate Government Headquarters from Bay Street to make room for any future tourism development.

He made this clear while speaking on the current administration’s decision to move the Geriatric Hospital on Beckles Road to the Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael.

“I passed where we are going to have the new Geriatric Hospital so that we can release the land in Beckles Road to private investment. When I was Prime Minister, some people came to Barbados telling me that where Government Headquarters is would be good for tourism development and that the Prime Minister’s office should be moved up to Ilaro Court.

“I said ‘I don’t have any problem with that suggestion, just come back and tell me when the White House is going to be moved in the United States; come back and tell me when Number 10 Downing Street is going to be moved and when 28 Sussex Drive In Canada will be moved and where’. I haven’t heard from any of them since,” he stated.

Saying the island once had the belief that the achievements of its people are important and in need of protection, the former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lamented that now “all life in Barbados today is about transactions” with no concern being given to the societal impact. 

“They do not discuss the social implications of anything going on in Barbados. It is just the bottomline, what the transaction will yield and what it will yield for certain people’s pockets,” he charged.

Speaking at the DLP’s City branch meeting at Baxter’s Road over the weekend, Stuart said the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is failing both residential and commercial Bridgetown. He said that since the current administration came into power there has been no transformation of The City either for those who live there or who work there.

The former prime minister pointed out that while Bridgetown was a bustling hub of commercial activity for 69 years, this has declined significantly over the past decade and that the current government has done little to address it.

Commenting on the residential areas in the capital however, he acknowledged that these have not been given any attention for decades.

“Whenever there is upheaval, residential Bridgetown is not regarded as being deserving of economic attention,” he said, while pointing out that several of its communities including Greenfield, New Orleans, Nelson Street and Chapman Lane are in serious need of development.

“The people in Nelson Street do not want any open space. They want proper housing, proper roads, access to the services and the amenities that people in other areas in Barbados have. People in Greenfield want that, in Chapman Lane and the Orleans want that. Residential Bridgetown has been ignored for the last 77 years,” he said, while pointing out that Barbados could not be developed without its main town.

Stuart told the meeting that now is the time to develop forward-thinking policies to take the nation further.

“We also have to formulate policies to carry Barbados into the future. I do not think that we can credibly formulate any policy to carry Barbados into the future, unless we have policies for residential Bridgetown because for too many years they have been the Cinderellas in City politics, stereotyped as the criminal element…and we cannot credibly come back to the people of Barbados unless we have a policy to rehabilitate residential Bridgetown.”  

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

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A plan which was in place since 2017 has finally been fulfilled and that is the ability to offer elite, emerging and developing athletes a place where their medicals can be done as well as a full sports medicine assessment.
The launch of the programme, which is a collaboration between the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), the Barbados Sports Medicine Association (BSMA) and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Community Empowerment, took place today at the BOA’s headquarters.
Speaking at the launch, president of the BSMA, Dr Carl Ward said that they will initially be catering for around 70 athletes. He said they are trying to offer more to the athletes but it will first start with an assessment clinic.
Ward said athletes will have a comprehensive medical yearly, as well as the medical that they would be required to have before travelling with a team on national duty.
Ward revealed that they will also have a referral system in place to deal with any problems that they may find.
One of the areas which they wish to address is the number of athletes who have been quitting their respective sports due to injuries that have gone untreated.
Another worrying trend which it hopes will be addressed is that of athletes who do not seek out trained professionals due to either financial reasons or lack of knowledge as to where they can find assistance.
Ward hopes that this will be the start of helping the developing and emerging athletes forge a pathway to the elite level regardless of injury.
Minister of Sport, Charles Griffith said that he also wanted some satellite places for the programme so that those who do not have transportation can still benefit from the programme.
However, Ward pointed out that a lack of human resources was the biggest problem with expanding the programme at the moment which is why they were catering for the current numbers.
Griffith voiced his concern that many athletes do not understand the impact that nutrition has on their careers.
He said a lot will now depend on coaches paying attention to and being aware of what is happening in terms of injuries. He also called for a mandate that all national federations be made to educate their coaches as to what is programs are in place.
Griffith also offered some space at the Wildey Gymnasium to help expand their program.
All three entities BMSA, BOA and the Ministry of Sport hope to collaborate in the future with the University of the West Indies.
(CG)

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