Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

Severe rainfall has led to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil after 37 people lost their lives, 74 reported missing and 7,949 displaced, now staying in shelters, as of May 3. Video footage in the media shows the area, nearly fully covered by water.  Also, Bridges and roads were left damaged. This was reported in a release by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Dengue#Caribbean#CentralandSouthAmerica, April 25, 2024 – New data from the Pan American Organisation(PAHO), indicates that dengue in the region may hit an all time high now over 4 million cases, a 260 percent increase from 2023 with over 1700 deaths registered since mid April. In fact, since April, reports say Brazil has reported the most cases. As a result of the surge in cases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reissued its Level 1 Travel Health Advisory for the Americas on April 18, 2024 and the countries listed include the Turks and Caicos, Guadeloupe and French Guiana, as they have been seeing higher than usual levels of infection.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#IMF#LatinAmericaandCaribbean#EconomicGrowth, April 22, 2024 – The IMF reports that economic growth for Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to slow to 2 percent for 2024, from 2.3 percent in 2023 due to weaker external environments and the effects of strict policies to control inflation, which are still materializing. This is not bad news for the region according to IMF official Rodrigo Valdes, speaking at a Press briefing on April 19. Additionally, Valdes informs that inflation has decreased and that the region has shown great resilience over the past few years.