Bahamas News
Bahamas Social Agencies work ‘hand-in-hand’ to ensure access for the Disabled
#TheBahamas – May 13, 2020 – Officials at the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and its Secretariat, and the Disability Affairs Division of the Department of Social Services, have been diligently working hand-in-hand to ensure that both the needs of regular and new clients who are persons with disabilities are being addressed during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The collaboration is part of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development’s continued efforts to ensure that all of its human and other resources are brought to bear in the delivery of social assistance.
Provisions have been made for persons with disabilities who are not clients of the Department, to provide their information via telephone to the Social Workers at the Disability Affairs Division so that they can receive Emergency Food Assistance. They are required to show their ID’s upon collection. Persons with disabilities can contact the Disability Affairs Division at telephone: 325-2251/2 for assistance.
Officials at the Disability Affairs Division have also collaborated with The Bahamas Red Cross to ensure that persons with disabilities are part of the Red Cross’ Meals on Wheels Programme.
Meanwhile, officials at the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and its Secretariat, have established a 24hr call and whats app line at 376-8328 as part of the measures it has implemented to ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are being met and with a view of bringing any outstanding matters to a speedy resolution.
Persons with disabilities can also register online through the Ministry’s link on the government’s website: www.bahamas.gov.bs. They may also email the Disabilities Commission at Disabilitiescommission@bahamas.gov.bs, or register online at the website: www.disabilitiescommissionbahamas.org or visit the Commission’s Facebook Page at disabilitiescommission242.
The Commission and its Secretariat have also been liaising with the relevant Non-Governmental Organizations to ensure that persons with disabilities have sufficient food, medical supplies, and protective equipment to ensure their safety and protection during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Other initiatives have
included working closely with members of the Blind Community and the
Association of Banking and Clearing Houses in The Bahamas to enhance and
improve members of the community’s banking experience, and ensuring that persons
with disabilities have access to, and receive the benefits and assistance due
them, and that they remain safe, protected and have the necessary items for
their continued well-being.
Additionally, they have ensured that persons
with disabilities who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing have access to information
being disseminated from the media through the participation of a Sign
Interpreter on all national broadcasts and have assisted persons with
disabilities and other able-bodied persons to obtain wheelchairs by
liaising with The Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled.
Administrators have updated the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities website to reflect information relative to the COVID-19 Pandemic; answered and responded to emails from family members/persons with disabilities concerns relative to COVID-19, all while performing the general administrative duties of The Secretariat by assisting the fifteen Commissioners of The NCPD who ensure that the Provisions contained in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Bill, 2014 are adhered to.
BIS News by Matt Maura
By Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, March 27, 2023 – Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors dominated the Bahamas at home, at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, for the 2022/2023 Concacaf Nations League on Friday, with a 3-0 victory.
The Soca Warriors struck their first blow within the first 5 minutes of the game, with Kareem Moses making the first shot in the top left corner of the net giving T&T one to the Bahamas’ zero (1-0).
Soon after, in about 26 minutes, they made another shot giving them 2-0 away from home; the scorer Joevin Jones. By the 34th minute mark, the winning goal was made by Ryan Telfer, T&T now at three.
Neither team scored any additional goals as the match progressed despite attempts made by various players.
Trinidad’s win gives them 12 points through five matches. Next match for the Soca Warriors is against Nicaragua; that clash is set for Monday March 27 (at home in Tobago at the Dwight Yorke Stadium), in a tussle of winner-take-all on the final match day. The victor takes home a promotion to League A and a spot in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Angus Eve, T&T’s head coach expressed that the job is only half done, keeping aware that more challenges are coming their way, one of which is the nearing match against Nicaragua who is one point ahead of the Warriors.
Meanwhile, The Bahamas will journey to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with hopes of emerging victorious there.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
March 24, 2023 – Without immediate and widespread efforts at curbing salt intake, 7 million lives will be lost by 2030 according to the World Health Organization. The warning follows the first-ever Global Report on Sodium Intake Reduction, which revealed that the world would not meet its sodium intake reduction target of 30 percent by 2025 on its current path.
With only 5% of WHO Member States protected by mandatory and comprehensive sodium reduction policies, the rest of the world must immediately implement ‘highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies to protect against some of the most common non-communicable diseases.
No Caribbean country was mentioned in the group of nine countries with comprehensive salt laws, but Barbados is
currently set to make effective stringent regulations to govern food consumption and food quality.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General said:
“Most countries are yet to adopt any mandatory sodium reduction policies, leaving their people at risk of heart attack, stroke, and other health problems. The WHO calls on all countries to implement the ‘Best Buys’ for sodium reduction, and on manufacturers to implement the WHO benchmarks for sodium content in food.”
North America and the Caribbean have the highest child diabetes statistics in the world, with the second highest prevalence in adults as well. In Turks and Caicos in particular, over 300 hundred residents have failing kidneys, a number described as ‘alarming’ by experts. Kidney disease is fueled in most cases by diabetes and hypertension.
The WHO is then advising Governments to do four things:
- Reformulating foods to contain less salt, and setting targets for the amount of sodium in foods and meals.
- Establishing public food procurement policies to limit salt or sodium-rich foods in public institutions such as hospitals, schools, workplaces, and nursing homes.
- Front-of-package labelling that helps consumers select products lower in sodium.
- Behaviour change communication and mass media campaigns to reduce salt/sodium consumption.
With these measures in place, the salt reduction target can still be achieved, according to the WHO.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, March 17, 2023 – The FBI is investigating a woman’s ‘suspicious’ death on a Carnival Cruise ship in February. The unnamed woman and her husband boarded the Carnival Sunshine on February 27th, for a trip to the Bahamas, but she was dead before they arrived in the port in The Bahamas. 
The FBI said Carnival’s team had administered life saving measures when the woman was reported unresponsive, but they were unsuccessful. The body and the woman’s husband were released to the Bahamian authorities when the cruise arrived in the country.
In a statement shared with US media houses, Carnival Cruises claimed the death has been a natural one. The Nassau Guardian said a source told them the police findings had concurred with that assessment saying it was a “normal sudden death of a tourist who wasn’t feeling well.”
The FBI was waiting for the cruise and when it got back to South Carolina on March 4th, they immediately boarded and began to investigate the room based on ‘evidence of a crime.’ The FBI also searched the couple’s car.
No updates have been shared to contradict the currently established cause of death.
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