Bahamas News
Bahamas Gender and Family Affairs Launches Online Family Safety Survey
#NASSAU, The Bahamas – May 13, 2020 — The Department of Gender and Family Affairs, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, has launched an online survey entitled: ‘Family Safety Survey – COVID-19 Bahamas,’ in line with the department’s objectives of “keeping our families safe.”
The availability of the survey is also a part of the technological reform underway at the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.
Dr. Jacinta Higgs, the Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, said the survey (available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PZDXGP9) examines how interactions in Bahamian homes may have changed since the arrival of the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Bahamas.
To reduce the instances of COVID-19 community spread in countries worldwide, global governments have implemented social/physical distancing policies, curfews and mandatory lockdowns as key mechanisms in that fight. This has resulted in persons having to spend more and more time together in confined spaces at home.
Dr. Higgs said the survey – which will take just five minutes to complete – will allow officials to garner as much information as possible on what is actually happening in homes during the curfew and/or mandatory lockdown periods in order to be better able to respond, and to be better able to bring about improvement: “once we know, and if persons reach out to us.”
The survey, which has been designed to elicit responses from males and females 18 years of age and above, has multiple objectives.
“The objectives of the survey are to ascertain, via an online platform which is accessible across the length and breadth of The Bahamas, responses from persons – men and women – ages 18 and above, the level of safety and/or violence in their homes pre-COVID-19 curfew, or lockdown or Emergency Order. And during this experience to find out, in the first instance, what is the prevalence or lack thereof of violence within our homes and, secondly, would the experiences have been exacerbated as a result of persons living now confined, and living very closely to one another over longer periods of time,” Dr. Higgs said.
“Also to find out what are the concerns of Bahamians from every island and every cay; and then finally to provide persons who may be experiencing violence in their homes with yet another safe space contact (safespace242@gmail.com). A private cell number has also been provided for those persons to have contact with the Department.”
Dr. Higgs said anyone who has access to a cell phone anywhere in The Bahamas can participate in the survey.
“This is the first time in the history of the Department that we have conducted such a survey. This is the first time in the history of the Department that we have such reach to those persons.”
The Department has undertaken the steps necessary to ensure the security and confidentially of all answers to the survey. Officials say the answers provided will remain completely “anonymous and confidential.”
The ‘surveymonkey’ web platform is international, universal and used by universities and research organizations and/or centres, in addition to departments within government, to allow those organizations to reach the greatest number of persons electronically.
“It is a platform that is safe,” Dr. Higgs assured. “We are working with one of the major universities, and the information will go directly to the research person assigned to the survey. Once the survey is submitted the responses are immediately gathered by the individual.”
Dr. Higgs said the online survey provides added benefits.
“The online survey is fully electronic which allows for the
automatic calculation of the various responses. It further affords us the
capability for the survey responses to be disaggregated (divided into detailed
sub-categories) outlining for example, how many men have responded, how many
women have responded.
“The advantage of using surveymonkey is not only to allow us access to every Bahamian in every Family Island and Cay, but it also allows us to gather that information, collate the information, then analyze the information and provide a report in a very quick turnaround time, as opposed to the sometimes years of turnaround time a survey of this magnitude may yield in terms of analyzing [the data] and then producing a report,” Dr. Higgs added.
BIS NEWS by Matt Maura
#TheBahamas, May 26, 2022 – Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Hon. Clay Sweeting said The Bahamas has made great strides to work with CARICOM countries to enhance The Bahamas’ poultry industry.
Minister Sweeting traveled with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Hon I. Chester Cooper, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Leonardo Lightbourne, Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) Ambassador H.E. Winston Pinnock and other top tourism officials to the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo held in Guyana from May 18-20.
The event was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center under the theme ‘Investing in Vision 25 by 2025’.
During the conference, Minister Sweeting met with several CARICOM leaders in Agriculture. He said he felt encouraged that the region would work together to reduce its food import bill and increase food security.
“In coming to Guyana, we wanted to explore opportunities and options, meet with other countries where we can work with other CARICOM leaders who also share the same focus as The Bahamas in developing their agricultural sector. We are trying to get to the point where we reduce imports by 25 percent by 2025. The Bahamas is a part of CARICOM and so we are committed to that and we’re looking for sectors to do that. We feel that poultry is one of the
sectors that we can do that very quickly and microgreens through vertical farming,” he said.
Minister Sweeting added that many countries are merging their poultry sectors with other food items that they can export.
“As we look around, countries have done very well in the sector. We understand that Guyana is one of the countries that has done well in Agriculture especially in poultry and coconut production. So, it seems that many countries are merging the two industries,” he said. “That’s what seems to be happening across CARICOM. For persons that are interested in investing in Agriculture, other countries are finding ways to work together to fight food insecurity together and as a unit.
“We feel both are bankable products and we are exploring opportunities to garner attraction in both of those. We were able to visit the poultry farm here in Guyana – Bounty Farms – that has done a wonderful job and produce around 25,000 chickens per day, and we are looking to do something of that sort in The Bahamas as well. Once we create this poultry industry in The Bahamas, it would create opportunities for Bahamians, for farmers and persons who want to get involved in producing feed. So, it is a full circle industry where thousands of Bahamians could benefit.”
Minister Sweeting noted that countries like Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana are eager to assist The Bahamas.
“What is very interesting and exciting is that the Ministers from Guyana and Jamaica have expressed their assistance to us as a country. If we are looking at the poultry sector, they are looking to help us in any way that they can. The comradery that we have had here over the last few days speaks to what we want to do as a CARICOM country and how our deficiencies could assist them and where they have deficiencies, we can work together. The minister of tourism met with other ministers of tourism and offered them some advice on how they can work with their tourism product and where we lack in agriculture they can assist in that manner as well,” he said.
Minister Sweeting said the government will work towards changing policies to encourage chicken production.
“Chicken is something that we can produce very quickly once we have the right policy in place to protect the farmers, the producers and processors and create an industry. A chicken from egg to adult is very minimal time. We want to be very aggressive with this and as soon as we can create a proper policy in this sector, we want to make it happen,” he said.
Release: Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture & Marine Resources
#TheBahamas, May 26, 2022 – Minister of Health & Wellness, the Honourable Dr. Michael R. Darville confirmed that there has been an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in particular in New Providence over the past three (3) weeks. The Minister added that samples to test for the Omicron BA.2. Variant were collected and sent for genome mapping.
The Disease Surveillance Unit he said has turned specific focus on schools in the country as cases continue to rise. “This Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Education & Technical & Vocational Training as well as with the unions”, Minister Darville said, “…on ways to mitigate the potential spread in our schools so that we do not disadvantage our children from getting access to education.”
He noted the increase in hospital cases was not directly related to COVID-19 but associated with complications from
Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCD’s). The Health Minister described it as a “common occurrence in countries battling CNCD’s because the pandemic pushed these comorbidities to the back burner as it relates to usual care”. Hospital officials are working assiduously he said, to address bed spaces to accommodate a surplus in admission cases.
Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Managing Director Aubynette Rolle added that the number of positive cases are being recorded at the hospital because testing for the virus is a prerequisite for admission. Much of it, MD Rolle said, falls into the category of a secondary diagnosis. She echoed a previous statement by Health Minister Darville who confirmed that there is no cause for alarm when it comes to adequate supplies of medicine.
Bahamians and residents are urged to continue to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols which help to limit the spread of the virus. Persons can also guard themselves from severe COVID-19 infection by getting the COVID-19 vaccine, 1st and 2nd boosters and extended series doses for persons who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Appointments can be made online at vax.gov.bs or walk-ins are welcomed at vaccination sites. Persons with mobility challenges may request a home visit by emailing vax242.mobile@gmail.com.
The public is encouraged to access community clinics for primary and urgent care and the Princess Margaret Hospital Emergency Department for emergency care only. The hours of operation for the New Providence Polyclinics are:
- Elizabeth Estates Clinic: 9:00a.m. – 9:00p.m., Mondays – Fridays
- Flamingo Gardens Clinic: 8:00a.m. – 9:00p.m., Mondays – Fridays
- Fleming Street Clinic: 8:00a.m. – 8:00p.m., Mondays – Fridays
- South Beach Health Centre: 9:00a.m. – 8:00p.m., Mondays – Fridays.
Release: Ministry of Health & Wellness
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