Caribbean News
11,000 Children in the Region missing Important Vaccinations
By Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
April 28, 2023 – Dr. Margherita Ghiselli, PAHO Immunization Advisor during a PAHO press conference update on vaccination on Thursday, April 20th, 2023, revealed that more than eleven thousand children in the Caribbean region below 1 years old, nearly 1 in 10, are shockingly not fully vaccinated.
There are places in the Caribbean where medical services, particularly those for vaccination are not in the reach of residents. Additionally, it is quite common in the region for people to display a lack of confidence in vaccines for a number of reasons. Ghiselli highlighted this, stating that the number of unvaccinated children are linked to inaccessibility and doubtfulness because of fake news.
“this is due in part to services not always being available but also to a large degree, to vaccine hesitancy which is linked to misinformation,” she maintained.
She also said the pandemic impacted coverage rates.
The potential consequences of this is the Caribbean is left unprotected as new outbreaks are possible, especially since the Caribbean is a tourism hit spot; in fact, its number one industry, hence the importance of filling those gaps in the region’s vaccination coverage, as pointed out by Ghiselli.
To counter these issues, PAHO is collaborating with ministries of health and partners across the region to bring about a significant increase in vaccination coverage and to further educate the general public and health care workers on vaccines and vaccination.
Ghiselli stated also that PAHO, UNICEF and other collaborators which were not named, have surveys and data collection tools to better understand the concerns surrounding covid vaccines among the people for instance, doubt of the vaccine safety especially given the speed at which they were developed, and the efficacy since people can still become infected whether it be asymptomatic or mild, according to results stated by Ghiselli.
To further increase vaccine coverage, PAHO has also been working with Caribbean member states to fortify their vaccination programs and “close immunity gaps.”
Not only that, they are also making efforts to conduct behavioural research to aid in education on Immunization studies and Communication tools for the general public, health workers and decision makers alike.
Furthermore, PAHO agents are in close workings with professional associations to ensure the involvement of vaccine and vaccination training in the curriculum of medical schools, nursing schools and other associated institutions to encourage advocacy around vaccines.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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