PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – A new United Nations-backed national household survey shows substantial progress has been made for children in the education, nutrition, health and sanitation sectors since 2006.
According to the initial results of the Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which covered 13,350 households, 77 per cent of children aged 6-11 years attended primary school in 2012, compared to just below 50 per cent in 2005-2006 when the last survey was conducted.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - IT'S been three years since our sister Caribbean country Haiti was hit by a powerful earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and devastated infrastructure. Quite appropriately, the Haitian Government ordered that the anniversary be observed with the Haitian flag flown at half mast and that nightclubs and similar establishments close, instead of a national holiday, as was done for the past two years.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Should we congratulate St. Kitts and Nevis for being the most recent Caribbean nation to become a “high-income country, as defined by the World Bank? Recently, the President of the United States of America Barack Obama pointed out that it was his intention to terminate the designation of the twin-state as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme in accordance with the provisions of the 1974 Trade Act.
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has presented Parliament with a EC$799.1 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) national budget outlining increased taxes and predicting economic growth for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2013. Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace is expected to respond later on Tuesday to the fiscal package that Prime Minister Gonsalves said underscored his administration’s determination to continue the economic growth the island had been experiencing in recent times.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says while an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will it some needed assistance, it is not however the solution to the problems facing the country. “The IMF will not solve the problems of Jamaica. We all have to make some sacrifices and it is us as Jamaicans that will have to work together in unity to move this country forward,” Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said, adding “it must be all of us working together for the growth and development of Jamaica as one Jamaican family shaping our future together”.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says it has given approval for the necessary amendments to be made to the Customs Act as the island implements the tariff liberalisation aspect of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) countries and the European Union in 2008.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE recent announcement by the secretary general of the Caribbean Community, Irwin LaRocque, of fresh efforts to restructure the management of the regional economic integration movement would most likely raise new questions about the commitment of Heads of Government to implement decisions unanimously adopted.
WASHINGTON, CMC – A major human rights group here has urged the Venezuelan government to end censorship and intimidation of media that challenge the official line regarding President Hugo Chávez’s health and inauguration. Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that, in recent days, the Venezuelan government has ordered a television station to cease transmission of spots that question its interpretation of the constitutional requirements for the re-elected president’s inauguration.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's government says President Hugo Chavez is conscious and responding to treatment for a respiratory infection at a Cuban hospital. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas says the infection has been controlled, but Chavez is still suffering from respiratory deficiency. Chavez has been fighting the infection after undergoing a fourth round of surgery Dec. 11 for a cancer in the pelvic area.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - The prognosis for the recovery from cancer of President Hugo Chavez is uncertain. If he is not able or does not assume the Venezuelan presidency, then it brings into question the continuation of PetroCaribe on which Caribbean countries are heavily dependent. The termination, phasing out, or revision of the terms of PetroCaribe would have devastating repercussions for the region already struggling to survive the global economic crisis.