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Fleming Fund projects launched with CARPHA, UKHSA and PAHO to fortify the Caribbean’s fight against Antimicrobial Resistance

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Dr. Natalie Wright, Head of the UK Overseas Territories Programme, United Kingdom Health Security Agency and PAHO AD

Bridgetown, Barbados. 6 May 2025 – On Monday, 5 May 2025, health leaders, development partners and regional stakeholders gathered at the Hilton Barbados Resort to launch two synergistic, landmark, regional projects under the United Kingdom (UK) Government’s Fleming Fund and jointly implemented by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).  The goal is to strengthen the Caribbean’s ability to combat the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Helen Royer – CARICOM

AMR occurs when microbes evolve to resist treatment, making infections harder to cure. In 2019, AMR caused 1.27 million deaths and contributed to nearly five million more—surpassing HIV/AIDS and malaria. Caribbean small island and developing states face added risks due to limited lab infrastructure, transport delays, and uneven access to antibiotics. The project, ‘Strengthening Antimicrobial Resistance Response in the Caribbean’, led by PAHO is designed to upgrade microbiology laboratories in ten countries (Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Montserrat).  It will also enhance capacity at the Best-dos-Santos Public Health Laboratory in Barbados.

The Caribbean Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA), a partnership between UKHSA and CARPHA, forms part of CARPHA’s wider integrated AMR Programme aimed at enhancing the region’s capacity to detect and respond to antimicrobial resistance. Through this initiative, CARPHA is strengthening its regional laboratory network, expanding diagnostic capabilities, and improving the collection and use of AMR data. The project will support Member States by expanding reference laboratory services in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia, and establishing a digital, region-wide surveillance platform. CARA also promotes regional coordination and best practice sharing, helping to align national efforts and policies to ensure timely, data-informed responses to antimicrobial resistance.

Speaking in support of the launch, Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance noted that AMR is a global emergency that demands urgent action. “The collaboration between UKHSA and CARPHA, supported by the Fleming Fund, is a powerful testament to our shared commitment to tackling this crisis head-on. By enhancing lab capabilities, improving surveillance, and building workforce expertise, we are taking decisive steps to protect the health of Caribbean communities and beyond. Together, we can make a lasting impact in the fight against AMR.”

Ashley Dalton, Minister of State for Public Health and Prevention (UK Department of Health and Social Care) highlighted “Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious and complex health challenges facing our world. The government is combating AMR through the Fleming Fund and advancing our national action plan, development models and surveillance systems. Our partnerships with the Caribbean Public.

Health Agency and Pan American Health Organisation are a vital for safeguarding public health and ensuring the effectiveness of life-saving treatments for future generations.”

Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization noted the strong history of collaboration to address pressing public health challenges. “AMR remains a top priority for PAHO. We are actively working with an organization-wide approach on several important initiatives in this area, from surveillance to infection prevention and control, water and sanitation, food safety, access to and the appropriate use of antimicrobials and supporting our Member States in the implementation AMR National Action Plans under a One Health approach.”

“Through CARA, we are strengthening our laboratory systems, expanding regional surveillance, and building a coordinated One Health approach to ensure that Caribbean countries are better equipped to detect, monitor, and respond to resistant infections, highlighted Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA.  She stressed that AMR is one of the most serious and complex health challenges facing our region. “This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to safeguarding public health and securing the effectiveness of life-saving treatments for future generations,” Dr Indar outlined.

PAHO ED Lisa Indar

Dr Natalie Wright, Head of UK Overseas Territories Programme and CARA project lead at UKHSA said: “AMR is an urgent global public health and development threat, affecting all countries and regions. Sustained action is required to curb inappropriate use of antibiotics, the main driver of AMR.  “Through this programme our goal is to build sustainable systems that promote data sharing, support clinical decision-making, and create lasting resilience to the threat of AMR. The work we do today will lay the foundation for a healthier, more secure future.”

Bringing remarks on behalf of the Prime Minister of Barbados, H. E. Mia Amor Mottley, who chairs the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, Chief Medical Officer of Barbados, Dr Kenneth George thanked the Fleming Fund Project for supporting national and regional efforts on AMR.  “Barbados has made strides in AMR Surveillance working towards full reporting to the Quadripartite Global Integrated System for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use.  As some of you may be aware of the WHO/PAHO Designation of the Best-Dos Santos Public Health Laboratory as a Regional Influenza Centre, reflecting our commitment to global health standards and enhancing our capacity to respond to infectious diseases. In the next few months, we will be working with PAHO to have a similar type of designation on AMR to ensure the Best Dos Santos Public Health Laboratory can indeed be a leader in AMR within the region.” Dr George noted.

The UKHSA plays a critical role in the CARA project, sharing best practices, aligning laboratory protocols, and coordinating the roll-out of training programmes designed to strengthen laboratory capacity, antimicrobial stewardship, and AMR data analysis across the Caribbean. By bridging national and regional efforts, the projects jointly reflect a unified Caribbean commitment to protecting public health, ensuring responsible antimicrobial use, and building long-term resilience against future infectious threats.

Caribbean News

Haitian Pushback Halts Controversial Constitution Rewrite — What’s Next?

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Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

 

Haitian media, legal scholars and civic voices did what bullets and barricades couldn’t: they stopped a sweeping constitutional overhaul widely branded as anti-democratic.  Editorials and analyses tore into proposals to abolish the Senate, scrap the prime minister, shift to one-round presidential elections, expand presidential power, and open high office to dual-nationals—a package critics said would hard-wire dominance into the executive at a moment of near-lawless insecurity.

The Venice Commission—Europe’s top constitutional advisory body—didn’t mince words either. In a formal opinion requested by Haiti’s provisional electoral authorities, it pressed for clear legal safeguards and credible conditions before any referendum, including measures to prevent gang interference in the electoral process—an implicit rebuke of pushing a foundational rewrite amid a security collapse.

Facing that drumbeat, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council has now formally ended the constitutional-reform initiative. The decision, taken at a Council of Ministers meeting at the National Palace, effectively aborts the rewrite track that has haunted Haiti since the Moïse and Henry eras.

So what now? Per the Miami Herald, the pivot is back to basics: security first, elections next. That means stabilizing Port-au-Prince enough to run a vote, rebuilding the electoral timetable, and empowering the provisional electoral machinery—none of which is simple when gangs control vast chunks of the capital and state authority remains fragile. Recent headlines underline the risk: gunfire has disrupted top-level government meetings, a visceral reminder that constitutional theory means little without territorial control.

Bottom line: Haitian journalists and public intellectuals helped slam the brakes on a high-stakes centralization of power that lacked legitimacy and safe conditions. International constitutional experts added weight, and the transition authorities finally conceded reality. Now the fight shifts to making an election possible—clean rolls, secure polling, and credible oversight—under circumstances that are still hostile to democracy. If the state can’t guarantee basic safety, any ballot is theater. If it can, shelving the rewrite may prove the first real step back toward consent of the governed.

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Political Theatre? Caribbean Parliamentarians Walk Out on House Speaker

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By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

 

October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.

For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.

October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts

The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader, led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.

The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.

Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.

The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.

October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit

Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.

The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.

“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”

The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.

Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”

“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”

A Pattern Emerging

While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.

In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.

Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.

Why It Matters

Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.

Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.

“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”

Restoring Balance

Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.

Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.

For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.

 

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

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Caribbean News

Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts celebrate a night of wins, and take home a total of 16 titles at the 32nd Annual World Travel Awards

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~Sandals Resorts hosts the 32nd Annual World Travel Awards Caribbean and The Americas Gala & celebrates its 32nd consecutive win as The Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand~

 

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, October 8, 2025 – Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts have been honoured with 16 awards at the 2025 World Travel Awards Caribbean and The Americas, underscoring their continued leadership across the hospitality landscape.

The Gala Ceremony held at Sandals Grande St. Lucian honoured the visionaries and trailblazers shaping the travel and tourism industry. The evening united government leaders and hospitality professionals for a night of celebration, recognition and inspiration.

Among celebratory toasts, Sandals Resorts International was named the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand for the 32nd year in a row. Beaches Turks and Caicos also celebrated its 18th win as the Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort, a recognition that comes ahead of the debut of its Treasure Beach Village, the resort’s $150 million expansion set to open spring 2026.

Other key wins include Sandals Dunn’s River, recognized as the Caribbean’s Leading Luxury All-Inclusive Resort for the third year in a row after opening its doors in 2023 and Sandals South Coast, awarded the Caribbean’s Most Romantic Resort.

The 16 awards won under Sandals’ portfolio are:

  • Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand 2025: Sandals Resorts International
  • Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort 2025: Beaches Turks & Caicos
  • Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica
  • Caribbean’s Leading Dive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Curaçao
  • Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Resort 2025: Sandals Grande St. Lucian
  • Caribbean’s Leading Luxury All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica
  • Caribbean’s Most Romantic Resort 2025: Sandals South Coast, Jamaica
  • Bahamas’ Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Bahamian
  • Curaçao’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Curaçao
  • Grenada’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Grenada
  • Jamaica’s Leading Adult-Only All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Negril
  • Jamaica’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort 2025: Beaches Negril
  • Jamaica’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Montego Bay
  • Jamaica’s Leading Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Caribbean
  • Saint Lucia’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Grande St. Lucian
  • Saint Vincent & The Grenadines’ Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Surrounded by the beauty of Gros-Islet, St. Lucia, the peninsula location of Sandals Grande St. Lucian created the perfect backdrop for World Travel Awards’™ guests to enjoy an unforgettable dining experience and breathtaking island views.

“At the heart of every Sandals and Beaches vacation is pure, inviting Caribbean soul, paired with world-class hospitality experiences for all our guests. The recognitions bestowed to our brands tonight are truly meaningful. They serve as a testament to the incredible passion and dedication of our talented team members,” said Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts. “It is yet another reminder of why we will never stop evolving, listening to our customers and refining our experiences year after year.”

For more information about these award-winning resorts, please visit www.sandals.com and www.beaches.com. For more information on the World Travel Awards™, please visit https://www.worldtravelawards.com/.

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