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Women’s Health Connectivity and health a study for TCI’S benefit

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Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

 

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2023 – As the country moves toward new fiber optic connectivity, bridging the digital divide could be a game changer for healthcare and other family-friendly services in the TCI. 

The power of universal digital connectivity across countries was one of the recurring themes when the United Nations in partnership with the Network of Afro Caribbean Women and the Diaspora recently explored how technology, innovation and education are being used to address women’s health issues. 

The session aimed to highlight success stories and  explore how those processes can be replicated to help women and girls globally including in The Turks and Caicos.  

The UN explained that despite holding a 70 percent majority in healthcare jobs, women are poorly represented in leadership roles and subject to systemic gender inequalities that can make receiving healthcare challenging.

As delegates from Chile and Rwanda, who were also partners in the session, shared the upgrades to their countries’ systems that had significantly improved the level of care available to their women, digital connectivity was a deciding factor.

In Rwanda the health ministries have begun to use drones to deliver medicine, SMS messages to alert about health threats and a completely digitized health care that eliminates paper documents for pregnant women and makes records accessible to any doctor,  immediately. 

Rwandan delegate, Rose Rwabuhihi shared tips that countries should keep in mind when trying to implement new processes to benefit women and the wider community.

  • Partnership and sustainability are key factors to successful programs. She urged governments not to give up on projects or allow their partners to give up on them halfway.
  • Education campaigns to introduce residents to the technology: “We need to build skills and deepen the knowledge so they can use the innovations that have been put in place especially in rural areas.

Poor connectivity and technological issues have plagued the TCI for years especially in the islands outside of Providenciales.  Government has substantially acknowledged this disparity in communications services and is investing in a new undersea cable to augment services in the Turks and Caicos.

The UNs perspectives can now ignite a fire for even more family friendly, digital services.

In fact,Senator Yasna Provoste Campillay, the Chilean Delegate explained how connectivity and videoconferencing had been used to reach the county’s women in the most rural of areas. Chile is a long country, its landmass spread lengthwise creating unique communication challenges. While healthcare in Chile is separated by length the Turks and Caicos islands are disconnected by the ocean and solutions that prove useful for the South American country could well be worth implementing  locally. 

Government

TCI Gov’t puts Haiti’s ARIEL HENRY on stop list

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Deandrea Hamilton and Dana Malcolm

Editorial Staff

Ariel Henri, Haiti’s caretaker Prime Minister, has been added to the Turks and Caicos’ Stop List.

An official March 13 notice stamped by the Immigration Director and distributed to all of the Turks and Caicos’ major travel partners confirmed the action.

Also listed as recipients are HE The Governor; Commissioner of Police; Labor Commissioner; Deputy Director of Immigration; Collector of Customs; Manager of American Airline; Manager of InterCaribbean Airways; Manager of Marco Travel; Manager of T&CTravel; Manager of Provo Travel; Caicos Express; O.I.C North Caicos; O.I.C. South Caicos and the Secretary of the Immigration Board.

Contacts outside the Turks and Caicos had spoken to Magnetic Media revealing that Henry was trying to find safe haven in the Islands.

Wednesday night, Magnetic Media was contacted by a prominent member of the local Haitian community who said he was fielding inquiries about whether the PM had arrived.

Our checks however found that he had not, because the TCI Government denied him refuge, that insider confirmation coming hours before the official document was shared with our news organisation.

The request, if it had been accepted, would have put him in the Turks and Caicos TODAY March 14.

Now on his way out of office having agreed to resign once a transitional government is in place, Henry has in the past been threatened by Haitian coalition gang boss Jimmy Chérizier calling on him to leave the post of Prime Minister.

Dr Ariel Henry has been stranded in Puerto Rico since last week when gangs tried to hijack the airport in Port Au Prince, purposefully denying Henry entry back home. The attempt failed, as gangs were held off by the military, but it spooked air carriers enough that many suspended operations into and out of Haiti.

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Government

Mike MISICK calls on Gov’t to REVOKE Richard Sankar citizenship; says he can’t pass it on in Same Sex Marriage

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Dana Malcolm 
Staff Writer
In response to a March 12 written ruling of a case between the TCI Immigration Department and the Attorney General and a married gay couple Richard Sankar and Timothy Hamon which decided that indeed they were discriminated against by the department, former premier Micheal Misick had some explosive thoughts and is now demanding a course of action.
He spoke to Magnetic Media on Wednesday March 13  after posting a stinging accusation on Facebook.
“I have known Richard Sanker for more than 20 years. I knew him when he worked for Prestigious Properties, I knew him when he first came to the islands, him and his partner.
As far as I know Richard has always been gay and there’s nothing wrong with being gay. For me it’s not about the fact that he’s gay. The fact he married a woman who he never lived a day with and imagined never being consummated and so therefore he obtained his status through fraud. The fact that he obtained his status through fraud means that the issuing of the status has to be nullified and void. Therefore I call on the government to revoke the status of Richard Sanker because he got it based on fraud. He married a Turks and Caicos woman for status knowing that he was gay. The marriage has never been consummated and now he marries a man and wants to give that man status. I thought I called on the government after revoking the status of Richard Sanker, they have to deport him so that he can never set foot in this country again. This is making a mockery out of our system and country. If this is allowed to stand it is setting a terrible precedent that anyone can become married through fraud and then get a status and pass it on l, divorce a Turks and Caicos Islander and marry someone else and then pass it on to them. This cannot be allowed to stand and so the government has to do something about it to protect the public interest and the interest of TC Islanders in general.”
In the ruling, the court found that the denial to a same sex couple of a right to marry and hence a right to have an overseas same sex marriage recognised in the TCI was not discriminatory.
The judge did not grant a change to the marriage ordinance but Justice Anthony Gruchot ruled the limiting of the grant of a spousal resident permit to only heterosexual couples is discriminatory.

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Government

Open Letter to the Governor and Premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands Regarding the Deteriorating Conditions in Haiti

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The People’s Democratic Movement is committed to collaborating with both the PNP Government and the Governor to ensure the safety and security of our nation. In my capacity as leader of the opposition, I respectfully request an urgent meeting involving the government, the governor, the opposition, and the leadership team of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force. This meeting is crucial for strategizing on how best to prevent the potential spillover of the unstable situation in Haiti onto our shores.

We urge the government to temporarily suspend all active leave for members of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force, TCI Regiment, immigration, and customs officers until further notice. Do this with funds allocated for overtime and additional compensation as required.

It is imperative to hold the British government accountable for its responsibility towards the internal and external security of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Therefore, we propose inviting the British government to consider the deployment of military personnel and equipment to strategic locations across our nation.

Furthermore, we recommend an immediate increase in the weapons and combat equipment stockpiles of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force to ensure preparedness for any potential threats.

We all impress on the government for additional sea vessels capable of detecting, catching, and subduing other fast-moving sea vessels, as the mode of illegal trafficking has changed. 

I am suggesting that we redirect the $9 million, recently appropriated for land acquisition in the recent Supplementary Appropriations 2024 Bill, to funding the suggested and required National Security efforts. 

With a civil war just 317 kilometers away from our shores in Haiti, coupled with the escaping of thousands of dangerous prisoners, and the mass exodus of persons towards our coastline, it is clear that we cannot afford to be complacent. The safety and well-being of our citizens must be a top priority, and proactive measures need to be taken swiftly to prevent any adverse impact on our beloved nation, our lives, and our livelihood.

Let us address this clear and present danger with a unified front, being proactive rather than reactive. 

Hon. Edwin A. Astwood

Leader of the Opposition

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