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Declaration of Nassau, closing Immunization Gaps

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Rashaed Esson & Deandrea Hamilton

 

 

#TheBahamas, May 5, 2023 – A pledge to close the growing immunization gaps was signed by Caribbean country leaders during the staging of the 29th Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) held last week  in Nassau Bahamas; it’s being called:   The Declaration of Nassau.

“We commit ourselves to the pursuit of initiatives and targets to be implemented to achieve an improved health status of our populations within the next five years, emphasizing leadership, strategic planning, management, implementation and resource mobilisation in the context of health sector reform processes that are underway,” says Article 1 of the Declaration.

There are seven articles in all.

The Declaration of Nassau devotes Governments to make efforts to fortify the national immunization programs with evidence-informed interventions, which includes prioritizing immunity gaps among children (which was worsened by COVID-19), elderly people, pregnant women, persons with pre-existing conditions, health workers and those living in situations that makes them vulnerable to contracting certain illnesses.

Additionally, it calls on and encourages countries to keep strong the regional targets for the control and elimination of measles, polio, Hepatitis B, rubella, tetanus, bacterial meningitis and cervical cancer, and proffers the development of policies and strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and infodemics (misinformation and false information).

The Governments under the Declaration, signed on Thursday April 27th, 2023, are committed to ensuring that Immunization is paramount on the health policy agendas in the political eye and for long-term sustainable financing.

These actions are evidently necessary for the region as pointed out by Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director in his address at the meeting.

He said, there is “great risk” of the re-emergence of diseases which had already been eliminated from our region,” due to the decline in “Immunization coverage,” as further expressed by Dr. Karen Broome, Immunization Advisor for the Caribbean Subregion at PAHO.

To support the initiatives outlined on the Declaration, Barbosa referred to a collaboration between PAHO and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), to use refunds from COVAX ( the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools [ACT] Accelerator,  a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to COVID19 tests, treatments and vaccines), to support routine vaccination for Member States.

Bahamas News

Husband Murder Plot foiled in The Bahamas; Wife and two others arrested 

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

 

#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – An American woman has been arrested in The Bahamas, accused of conspiring with two men, one of them alleged to be her lover, to murder her estranged husband.

The woman, 36 year old Lindsay Shiver and the two men, 28-year-old Terrance Bethel, the alleged lover and 29 year old Faron Newbold, were taken into custody last week following police investigation of a reported burglary at Grabbers Bar and Grill restaurant on Great Guana Cay.

The police looked into their cell phones and found WhatsApp messages detailing the assassination plot to kill her husband.

The couple, who built a life in South Georgia have three children and are home owners on the island in the Abacos.

News outlets throughout the US have reported on the scandalous story, including that a nasty court battle over the couple’s reported, $5 Million dollar fortune and three children was underway.  Shiver, an entrepreneur is a former beauty Alabama queen, her husband a former football player was an insurance executive.

According to US media, the husband, Robert, recently filed for divorce from Shivers after a decade of marriage upon discovering she had an alleged extra-martial affair with Bethel whom she met in The Bahamas.

While the husband claims infidelity on the part of his wife, the wife claims he was abusive.

The suspects Shiver, Bethel and Newbold appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley on Friday July 28th.  Their next court date is set for October 5th.

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Alarming Sexual Assault cases raising fears in The Bahamas

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – The Bahamas is now facing an unfortunate reality as sexual assault has become and is a growing issue since 2023.  Women and girls are said to be living in fear for their safety from these perpetrators.

The Royal Bahamas Police force has reported on instances of assault in press releases found on their Facebook page.

One report spoke of a 50 year old they were searching for after he burglarized a home and sexually assaulted an elderly woman, 82 years old.  She was reported to be asleep when he woke and assaulted her.

This took place on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 at the home in the Centreville area of Nassau.

There is another incident that took place on July 17th, 2023 which the police are seeking in catching the suspect as they investigate.  It involves a man believed to the perpetrator in for an armed robbery and sexual assault.

According to preliminary data, he approached the victim, a female, with a firearm, robbed her and sexually assaulted her.  He proceeded to enter the house and robbed a male and escaped.  This happened in the Cowpen Road area; also in Nassau.

The assaults continue to grow in number as the police reported that they were investigating two other incidents that took place on July 24th.

The first had to do with a female, 30 years old who reported she was driving on West on Marshall Road when two men approached her after she slowed down near Faith Avenue.  One of the males with a firearm, forced her from her vehicle and took her to nearby bushes where they sexually assaulted her after which they escaped.

The second incident involved à 32 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a male known to her.  It is reported that she was walking in the Fleming Street area when she accepted transportation from the suspect, who drove her to a dirt road off Gladstone Road where he presented a firearm and proceeded to rape her.

Furthermore, another assault, this time involving a 9 year old girl, was reported.  As revealed by preliminary information, the victim was playing with friends outside where she lives on Saturday July 29th, 2023 when the suspect, a 42 year old male of Summerset Estate, driving a white Nissan Skyline, arrived and gestured to her to enter the car.

She entered the car after which he took her to an unknown location, threatened her and sexually assaulted her.  She was later found somewhere in Spikenard Road; this also happened in Nassau.

Fortunately, he was caught and arrested for abduction and sexual assault on Sunday July 30th by officers affiliated with the Drug Enforcement Unit.

There are other reports of sexual assault throughout The Bahamas as well as rape and attempted rape during the earlier parts of the year, dating back to as early as February.

 

CAPTION: Women Leaders, including Ann Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister filled the gallery of The Bahamas Senate this week as members of the upper chamber debated the Protection Against Violence Bill 2023.  The debate came just as the country experiences a spike in sexual assaults against women and girls.  Photo by Patrick Hanna, BIS.

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Premier Misick received a courtesy call from the Bahamas Leader of the Opposition

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#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – On August 3rd, 2023, Premier Misick met with the Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Honorable Michael Pintard. The discussion was highly productive, and they delved into matters of mutual concern between their neighboring nations. Hon. Pintard was accompanied by other opposition members, including Senator the Honorable Darren Handfield and Mr. Joshua Sears.

 

Group photo caption:

From Left to Right: Mr. Joshua Sears, Senator Hon. Darren Hendfield, Premier Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Bahamas Leader of the Bahamas Hon. Michael Pintard and Deputy Premier Hon. Erwin J. Saunders.

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