BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Health authorities have defended the decision to prosecute delinquent property owners noting there has been an increase in dengue cases and rodent sightings on the island.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Director of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Jarbas Barbosa has emphasized efforts made by countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean, to recover public health gains lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Johnny Bernard, a board-certified radiation oncologist based in Palm Coast, Fla., had his doubts about the medical benefits of cannabis. However, his perspective changed when he witnessed its effectiveness in relieving cancer treatment side effects among his patients. Over time, the consistent positive stories from patients turned him from a skeptic to a supporter of medical cannabis.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana is constructing a US$161 million hospital in New Amsterdam that health and other officials say will provide world-class healthcare services to citizens in the East Berbice-Corentyne region.

GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on the international community to increase taxes on alcohol and sugary sweetened beverages (SSBs). 

GENEVA – UNAIDS is urging governments in the Caribbean and across the world to unleash the power of grassroots communities to lead the fight to end AIDS.

Editor’s note: This commentary is provided by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) of Florida A&M University.

DUBAI – The Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, has urged countries of the Americas to ensure the health impacts of climate change are taken on board as they continue to rebuild and strengthen health  systems in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has launched a new Caribbean regional health initiative that he says marks the formalization of a health partnership between two important regional organizations.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – In what has been described as remarkable medical feat, a 44-year-old female patient from the Essequibo region, recently underwent a life-saving gynecological surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). 

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank (WB) have launched the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, a collaboration to boost investment, innovation and implementation of policies and initiatives aimed at transforming health systems in the region with a focus on primary health care.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says Grenada is considering partnering with Saudi Arabia to improve the island’s public healthcare services including the building of a new teaching hospital.