News
Ministry of Tourism Hosts the UK Government
#TurksandCaicos, March 11, 2022 – The Ministry of Tourism will be hosting representatives from the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from the 2nd – 11th March 2022. The main purpose of the visit is to meet with local stakeholders to discuss Darwin Plus: Environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs).
Darwin Plus, also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund provides funding for a total of fourteen (14) UKOTs’ environmental projects, as well as fellowships for nationals of UKOT’s to bolster technical and scientific expertise and broaden knowledge and experience of environmental projects.
DEFRA representatives will engage with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Fisheries and Marine Affairs to determine how well the Darwin Fund is fulfilling its purpose and whether it is required to make necessary adjustments to the programme to better serve overseas territories and the UK. DEFRA is the UK agency responsible for funding and ultimately deciding what is funded through the Darwin Plus programme. Darwin Plus has funded applied conservation work on Caicos pine, Turks and Caicos rock iguanas, wetlands, coral reefs, and other species
and habitats; and has developed capacity in management tools such as marine spatial planning, natural capital accounting, and fisheries science, in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
“The Turks and Caicos Islands have benefitted enormously from Darwin Plus grants, some of which have helped save species and habitats from extinction and have further protected the livelihoods of Turks and Caicos Islanders. In our Beautiful by Nature islands, we depend wholly on the pristine environment and its escapist appeal to drive our tourism industry. Darwin Plus helps us balance the needs of our economy with those of nature and the environmental security of future generations”, said Honorable Minister Josephine Connolly.
The visit will include meetings with various TCIG Departments, including the Department of Environment and Coastal Resource (DECR), the Energy and Utilities Commission, the Department of Planning and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources (DFMR). A trip to South Caicos will include a visit to sites of historical and ecological importance as well as to the local fishing community. The team will also travel to North and Middle Caicos for a tour featuring visits to sites where conservation work has been supported by Darwin Plus and previous DEFRA funding initiatives.
Perhaps most importantly, it will bring together both conservation management staff and on-the-ground conservation team members in DECR with the UK Department responsible for managing the funding, to assess the efficacy of funding and how best to address environmental challenges and how the funds are accessed. This important visit gives Turks and Caicos Islands the opportunity to show how successful past grants have been and to identify adjustments that will be helpful in future conservation management to ensure that the natural environment is adequately protected for future generations.
TCIG knew from April that fuel factor could surge almost 80%; Minister says $500 cost-of-living payment was part of Government’s response
PROVIDENCIALES — The Turks and Caicos Government knew months before July’s shocking electricity bills that consumers faced a potentially massive increase in the fuel factor.
Minister of Information Technology and Energy E. Jay Saunders revealed Friday that Pelican Energy warned his Ministry in April that generation fuel costs were projected to rise from $3.09 per gallon in May to $4.79 in June and July.
That translated into a projected fuel factor jump from about 17.5 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of almost 80%.
Saunders said he personally advised Cabinet of the projected increase and presented options for cushioning the impact.
He characterised Government’s $500 cost-of-living payment as its “initial response” to rising fuel costs, before a separate fuel-factor subsidy was approved.
Cabinet records show Government agreed on June 24 to provide funding to mitigate the fuel-factor impact, with the relief programme approved July 8.
Eligible residential customers — those averaging less than $1,500 monthly over the previous three bills — are capped at 22 cents per kWh from July through October.
Pelican confirmed Friday that Government’s contribution was already applied to July bills, meaning the bills now triggering widespread public outrage would have been even higher without the subsidy.
Saunders did not disclose the programme’s total cost.
His admission that Government knew since April, however, raises another question amid the backlash: why were consumers not directly warned by Government about the scale of the approaching increase?
NASSAU, Bahamas — More Bahamians are accessing HIV and sexually transmitted infection-related healthcare through National Health Insurance, a trend the NHI Authority says should be viewed positively.
NHIA stressed in an August 6 statement that its 2025 figures measure healthcare utilisation, not newly diagnosed infections. They include beneficiaries screened, treated, monitored or receiving follow-up care, including people diagnosed previously.
“Increased utilisation of these services should be viewed as a positive development,” NHIA said.
The Authority pointed to “greater enrolment and use of NHI, improved access to screening and testing, continued treatment and monitoring of existing conditions, and increased willingness to seek medical care.”
The development comes amid a mixed three-year HIV picture. New diagnoses rose from 130 in 2023 to 156 in 2024, before declining to 142 in 2025.
NHIA said increased utilisation demonstrates that more beneficiaries are accessing needed healthcare and actively managing their health, reinforcing the importance of screening, early diagnosis and continued treatment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Americas has recorded 47,459 confirmed measles cases and 44 deaths in 2026, the region’s highest case count in 22 years, prompting the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to urge stronger vaccination, surveillance and rapid outbreak response.
As of July 18, cases were already more than triple the 15,011 recorded during all of 2025. Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Peru
account for 95% of confirmed cases. Guatemala leads with 30,371 cases and 26 deaths, followed by Mexico with 12,255 cases and 17 deaths.
PAHO classifies the regional public health risk as very high, citing active outbreaks, immunity gaps, international travel and populations with inadequate vaccination coverage.
The organization says prevention starts with vaccination. Countries are being urged to achieve and maintain at least 95% coverage with two doses of measles-containing vaccine, particularly protecting children and under-vaccinated communities.
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash.
PAHO is urging health authorities to detect suspected cases early and respond rapidly to stop transmission. Unvaccinated and under-vaccinated people, young children and communities with limited healthcare access face increased risk of severe illness and death.
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