Health
Food Wastes while People of countries like Somalia starve; donate to support fund raising of $1 billion
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
Somalia, December 1, 2022 – Farmers around the world produce enough food to feed 10 billion people with 8 billion currently on the planet. We should all be well fed. Instead hundreds of thousands of Somalians are facing starvation at this very moment. As many as four children and 2 adults per 10 thousand will die each day. For years the rainy season in Somalia has been non-existent. Water is barely available in large enough amounts to feed animals and people, crops are not surviving, it’s the country’s worst drought in decades.
It will take $1 billion and the UN says it’s only halfway there.
Earlier this year the United Nations and Red Cross begged for donations warning that without the cash needed millions would face food insecurity or starvation. In mere weeks outright famine could arrive.
The World Food Program informed it needs US$327 million until January 2023 to effectively feed Somalians. Donations are a matter of life and death for more than 200 thousand people who cannot coax the land they depend on to yield any food.
It was said around 513 thousand children are malnourished and 173 thousand are at risk of dying from starvation.
James Elder, UNICEF, said “It’s a pending nightmare we have not seen this century. This is not just about nutrition,
severely malnourished children are in fact up to 11 times more likely to die from things like diarrhea and measles than well-nourished boys and girls.”
Even as Kenya and Ethiopia struggle with their own food insecurity they continue to keep their borders open ushering in any Somalian who can survive the walk. As the crisis worsens it begs the question: We have the food so why isn’t it making it to everyone?
Several years ago I can recall working at one of the United States’ major supermarket chains as a college student. One day the manager of the produce department entered the breakroom with an entire case of bright red strawberries announcing that they would expire within the day and couldn’t be sold. “Eat, eat!” She prompted the group of 19 year olds, all from countries (Thailand and Jamaica) where strawberries are not grown in large amounts and thus expensive. Delighted, we ate ourselves sick. This is part of the problem.
Around half the total weight of food produced is wasted.
An article from National Geographic corroborates it. In richer countries that waste occurs in supermarkets, restaurants and homes. Wealthier countries can afford to provide copious amounts of meat, beautiful out of season fruit and cooked meals for residents to choose from, all of which must be dumped as soon as the expiry date passes.
In smaller countries we have our fair share of waste as well farmers who do not have access to proper storage and transportation often find their wares spoiling.
The article revealed that with all this waste ‘only 55 percent of the world’s crop calories feed people directly; the rest are fed to livestock (about 36 percent) or turned into biofuels and industrial products (roughly 9 percent).’
Feeding less of that hard grown food to animals is a start to food equity, letting cows and other animals graze on naturally occurring grass and pasture will help. So too will shifting our diet from such meat intensive meals to more plant rich plates.
These are long term goals.
In the near future the only thing that will save the vulnerable is immediate worldwide mobilisation and donations. Individuals as well as countries and organisations interested can donate to Somalia at the World Food Program’s website.
February is National Self- Check Month and family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, OH, John Hanicak, MD, highlights why at home self-checks are extremely important when it comes to not just early cancer detection but identifying other illnesses too and offers tips on what to look out for.
“Sometimes I look at them as sort of like your check engine light on the car, just like there would be a red flashing light that tells you that
there’s something wrong with a car and prompts you to bring that in and get serviced. Your body does the same thing. It gives you warning signs to look into that symptom a little bit further,” said Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak said self-checks are going to be a little different for everyone.
However, in general, he recommends looking for anything that may seem abnormal, such as unexplained weight loss, blood in your urine, bumps and bruises that won’t heal, and changes in bowel habits.
For example, if you suddenly start going to the bathroom a lot more than you used to, that could be a sign of something more serious.
He also suggests doing regular skin checks and documenting any moles or spots that start to look different.
“Realize that you are your own person. There’s nobody else in the world exactly like you. You’ve got your own set of ideas, your own family history and your own genetics. Know what is normal for you, and when that changes, that’s the kind of thing that we would be interested in talking about,” said Dr. Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak notes that self-checks are not meant to replace cancer screenings, as those are just as important to keep up with.
Press Release: Cleveland Clinic
December 4, 2025 – Hollywood legend Bruce Willis – arguably the most famous former home owner in Turks and Caicos Islands – is facing the most difficult role of his life and turning it into one last act of service.
Willis, 70, retired from acting in 2022 after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with aphasia. The following year, specialists
confirmed he is living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disease that attacks language, behaviour and personality.
In recent interviews and appearances, his wife Emma Heming Willis has said Bruce is “surrounded by love and care” and that the family is learning to find joy in new ways, even as the disease progresses.
Now, Heming Willis has gone further. In her 2025 memoir The Unexpected Journey, she writes that the family has decided Bruce’s brain will be donated to science after his death to advance research into FTD. That decision has been highlighted in recent coverage by futurist and science outlets, which describe it as a carefully considered step after months of watching a still-physically-strong man steadily lose speech, reading and independence.
Neurologists have long stressed how rare donated brain tissue is for FTD, and how essential it is to understanding which proteins, mutations and mechanisms are actually driving the disease. The Willis family’s choice means the brain that powered some of cinema’s most iconic characters could one day help researchers diagnose the condition earlier and design better treatments – even if it cannot help Bruce himself.
For Turks and Caicos, the story lands close to home. For nearly two decades Willis owned “The Residence” on exclusive Parrot Cay – a 7.3-acre, Asian-inspired beachfront compound with a five-bedroom main house, two guest villas and a yoga pavilion. He and Emma listed the estate in March 2019 for US$33 million; it sold a few months later for about US$27 million, one of the biggest residential deals in TCI history.
So, while Bruce Willis no longer has a physical address in Turks and Caicos, his connection to these islands remains part of his global story – a story now shifting from blockbuster fame to medical legacy, as his family turns private heartbreak into a public contribution that could change what we know about dementia.
Developed by Deandrea Hamilton • with ChatGPT (AI) • edited by Magnetic Media.
Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Turks and Caicos, September 6, 2025 – COVID-19 fears in the Turks and Caicos Islands that once had residents on edge are now giving way to a sense of relief. The Ministry of Health and Human Services reports a dramatic reversal: from dozens of new cases in July to zero cases and zero hospitalizations today.
Between August 17 and 23, 2025, officials confirmed no new cases, no hospitalizations, and no new deaths. Just two recoveries were recorded, bringing the national recovery tally to 6,866. The total confirmed cases since 2020 stand at 6,922, with deaths unchanged at 41. Health officials say August has been relatively quiet overall, with 19 new cases and recoveries recorded for the month — a fraction of what the islands faced just weeks earlier.
The contrast could not be sharper. The most concerning bulletin came in mid-July, when the Ministry reported 54 new cases in a single
week. Ten were fresh positives, while the other 44 came from a backlog of April samples. At that time, two new hospitalizations were recorded, and the islands mourned one additional COVID-related death, bringing the total to 41. It was a sobering reminder that the virus was still circulating, pushing recoveries to 6,845 and raising the cumulative case count to 6,910. The July spike stirred fear among residents and renewed calls for vigilance, as community spread and delayed lab results painted a worrying picture.
Fast forward to late August, and the numbers tell a very different story. Not only are new cases negligible, but the hospitals are reporting no COVID-19 patients at all. Officials say testing continues across a wide range of categories, and the Ministry urges the public to stay cautious: wash hands, wear masks in crowded spaces, protect the vulnerable, and get vaccinated. But the tone now is one of optimism.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Turks and Caicos has recorded nearly 7,000 cases in total, with 6,866 recoveries and 41 deaths. The islands’ small population means every case has felt significant, and surges like July’s were especially unsettling. But today’s figures suggest the country has reached a new stage: COVID-19 is no longer the disruptive force it was. The Ministry credits continued public vigilance and the accessibility of free testing and vaccines at government clinics. While the numbers are cause for celebration, health leaders are careful not to declare the fight over. The Ministry’s latest bulletin reminds residents to maintain hygienic practices, follow self-isolation guidelines if infected, and ensure vaccinations are up to date.
The pandemic may not be entirely behind the Turks and Caicos, but compared to the frightening figures of July, the near-zero landscape of August offers a powerful sign of hope.
The Ministry released the bulletin on September 2, confirming that for the week of August 17–23, no new cases, hospitalizations, or deaths were recorded — a sharp contrast to the surge just weeks earlier.
