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Top News in the Print Media: The JIS, The Gleaner & The Observer
From the Overseas Department, Jamaica Information Service
Monday October 13, 2003
AMBASSADOR COBB BUILDING BRIDGES
The Observer: The US Ambassador to Jamaica, Sue Cobb, has launched a year-long project to be supported by public and private sector groups as well as NGOs, to build a strong social and economic partnership between Jamaica and her home state of Florida, which she hopes will help the island’s development.
Cobb formally unveiled her project, called “Building Bridges – The Florida-Jamaica Connection”, at her residence at Long Lane, St. Andrew Thursday night and named Caroline Mahfood as its executive director.
“We have 11 initiatives that will be done over the next 12 months,” Cobb told guests at a reception to launch the project. “We will be efficient and we will get things done.”
Developed in collaboration with the Government’s trade and investment agency, JAMPRO; the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ); and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM), it hopes to tap into the support of a range of institutions in Jamaica and Florida with the objective of fostering “development opportunities and knowledge-sharing”.
GOV’T THAWS ON JOB FREEZE
The Observer: The Ministry of Finance has relaxed the public sector job freeze in response to pressure from union leaders, and has agreed to form a committee with the unions to oversee the filling of vacancies.
"It is not a stop of the freeze... but (an attempt) ...to make sure that they put in the committee so that we can address our concerns jointly," said Keith Comrie, general secretary of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), the umbrella body of most of the island's unions.
The committee, which will also negotiate job reclassifications and job hiring, will be chaired by State Minister for Finance, Fitz Jackson. Technocrats and union heads will also be represented on the committee.
The government's slight thawing on the hiring freeze issue came after a four-hour meeting at the Ministry's Kingston headquarters last Friday. No timeline was given for the formation of the committee but Comrie said the Ministry had already set up an internal committee to oversee the possible hiring for new posts.
SPOT MARKET WEIGHTED AVERAGE RATE
CURRENCY -- PURCHASES -- SALES
___US$_______59.7880_____59.9620
__CAN$_______43.2004_____44.7421
___GB£_______97.1859_____99.1888
JA TO GET $102M UN GRANT
The Observer: In an effort to curb the soaring pregnancy and HIV/AIDS rates among young people, Jamaica will expand its educational and reproductive health care programmes with $102 million (US$1.7M) in funding from the United Nations.
Hetty Sarjeant, the local representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), announced the grant on October 10 when presenting her organisation's annual report on the state of the world's population.
The 83-page report focuses, this year, on the world's 1.2 billion adolescents, from 10 to 19 years old. They are the largest group of adolescents ever -- representing one fifth of the world's population -- and they face a number of problems, both in Jamaica and worldwide.
The report warned that a lack of funds for health-oriented educational programmes is helping to increase unwanted pregnancies, unsafe childbirth, and sexually transmitted diseases.
NO HUNGER PROBLEMS HERE
The Gleaner: Agriculture and food nutrition experts say Jamaica does not have a major problem with food hunger and malnutrition. However, the problem of people consuming the wrong foods is giving rise to major lifestyle-related diseases here.
Godfrey Xuereb, Public Health Nutritionist at the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), explained that while there are approximately 800 million people faced with the problem of hunger and malnutrition worldwide, "in Jamaica it is not that people are undernourished (or malnourished), but (that they) are wrongly nourished... we are getting the problem of people eating the wrong food rather than not eating enough."
Mr. Xuereb was attending the launch of World Food Day celebrated on October 16 annually at the Ministry of Agriculture, Hope Gardens in St. Andrew last Friday (Oct. 10).
FDI IN JAMAICA PLUNGES
The Gleaner: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Jamaica fell by US$235 million in 2002 over 2001, figures released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reveal.
Foreign Direct Investment represents the investment by foreign companies in a host country. This 22 per cent drop means that investment inflows in Jamaica were US$614 million in 2001 as against US$470 million in 2002.
Globally, FDI flows fell to the lowest level since 1998. Announcing these figures in Kingston recently, Bartholomew Nyarko-Mensah, the UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative in Jamaica, stated that Jamaica did better than some sections of the Caribbean and Latin America.
Globally, FDI flows fell to the lowest levels since 1998, and the Caribbean region is at a 36-year low. FDI is an important part of Jamaica's push for economic development. According to the World Investment Report, there were 177 foreign affiliates located in Jamaica.
WARDERS IN TRAINING AT NEWCASTLE
The Gleaner: History was created by the Correctional Services Department yesterday when it began training 30 female and 120 male recruits as correctional officers at the Newcastle Training Centre, St. Andrew.
Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of Corrections, told The Gleaner that this was the first time the Correctional Services Department was using the Newcastle centre. He said that the usual training venue, the Carl Rattray Centre, Runaway Bay, St. Ann, was not available.
He said the government was looking for ways to boost the professionalism of the staff, and after the current batch graduated, a further batch of 130 correctional recruits would begin training in November at the Carl Rattray Centre.
MORE POLICE PATROLS FOR PORTMORE
The Gleaner: The police in the Portmore communities of St. Catherine will be dispatching more patrols, starting yesterday, to counteract the growing crime problem which has been plaguing the area in the last few months.
At an emergency meeting of the Sabina Citizens' Association, Greater Portmore, last night, Supt. Glenford Hudson, head of the St. Catherine Police South Division, announced that starting yesterday "we are going to try and put some more people in the community on motorcycles and on foot."
With more police personnel on motorcycle and foot patrol, Supt. Hudson said, it would allow the police to have greater access to the various communities "because you know how the communities are made up; it is difficult at times to get motor vehicles in" (some places). This, he noted, would greatly reduce the response time of the police.
Contact: Celia Lindsay
For further information about any of these news items,contact the Overseas Department at
[email protected]
. The Jamaica Information Service web page address is
www.jis.gov.jm
.Telephone: (876) 926-3740-8 / 926-3590-8, Fax: (876) 926-6715
COMMENTARY
Monday October 13, 2003
THE GLEANER
CHILDREN AND RISKY BEHAVIOUR
IN A country where "nuff gal" is evidence of both personal and national progress, perhaps we ought not to be unduly shocked by the findings of a recent survey by the University of the West Indies medical students on the sexual behaviour of our children. We remind readers that childhood, by United Nations' definition, extends to age 18 years.
The findings of the researchers, disturbing as they are, are really not new but are closely similar to the results of a National Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviour and Practice survey carried out by the Ministry of Health three years ago. The average age of first sex is 14. The legal age of consent is 16.
Boys, the survey of 14- to 18-year-olds in 13 high schools across three parishes has found, have an average of four sexual partners with a high of 20 reported. The separation of fact and fiction may be blurred here, or perhaps the high scorers do nothing else during their high school years.
The early initiation and promiscuous behaviour of children is one thing. But the widespread failure to apply knowledge of safer sex for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections sets off alarm bells. HIV/AIDS is already a public health crisis with the Caribbean bearing the second highest rate of infection outside of devastated Africa. Over 70 per cent of children in the survey acknowledged that they had knowledge of reproduction, STIs, HIV/AIDS and contraception, and up to 90 per cent identified the condom as a means of protection.
Knowledge is not the problem. As the Behaviour Change specialist in the Health Ministry sums up the problem: Teenagers, like adults are not internalising prevention messages and they often do see themselves at risk for infection. Linked to a reckless, daredevil attitude about everything, including risky sexual behaviour, is a major national condomphobia. Men (and boys) must "ride" bareback and women (and girls) are too cowed, or too loving, to say no to sex and no to no condom.
On top of school violence and poor performance of the academic kind, the youth population of 15 to 25 accounts for the lion's share of the plague of crime and violence that is upon us and are most affected by HIV/AIDS, all with enormous social and economic consequences for the whole society.
Let us call a spade a spade (there are many more AIDS graves to dig), the society has long faced a crisis of irresponsible sexual behaviour which extends to even very young children. But the HIV/AIDS epidemic has seriously compounded that fact of history. Convincing people to go from knowledge to practice is the most critical challenge, and not even the 100 per cent certainty of death once AIDS is developed seem, at this stage, to be helping much.
The greatest ingenuity of behaviour change agents, including cultural, political, educational and religious leaders, is now urgently required.
FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
Top News in the Print Media: The JIS, The Gleaner & The Observer
From the Overseas Department, Jamaica Information Service
Monday October 13, 2003
AMBASSADOR COBB BUILDING BRIDGES
The Observer: The US Ambassador to Jamaica, Sue Cobb, has launched a year-long project to be supported by public and private sector groups as well as NGOs, to build a strong social and economic partnership between Jamaica and her home state of Florida, which she hopes will help the island’s development.
Cobb formally unveiled her project, called “Building Bridges – The Florida-Jamaica Connection”, at her residence at Long Lane, St. Andrew Thursday night and named Caroline Mahfood as its executive director.
“We have 11 initiatives that will be done over the next 12 months,” Cobb told guests at a reception to launch the project. “We will be efficient and we will get things done.”
Developed in collaboration with the Government’s trade and investment agency, JAMPRO; the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ); and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM), it hopes to tap into the support of a range of institutions in Jamaica and Florida with the objective of fostering “development opportunities and knowledge-sharing”.
GOV’T THAWS ON JOB FREEZE
The Observer: The Ministry of Finance has relaxed the public sector job freeze in response to pressure from union leaders, and has agreed to form a committee with the unions to oversee the filling of vacancies.
"It is not a stop of the freeze... but (an attempt) ...to make sure that they put in the committee so that we can address our concerns jointly," said Keith Comrie, general secretary of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), the umbrella body of most of the island's unions.
The committee, which will also negotiate job reclassifications and job hiring, will be chaired by State Minister for Finance, Fitz Jackson. Technocrats and union heads will also be represented on the committee.
The government's slight thawing on the hiring freeze issue came after a four-hour meeting at the Ministry's Kingston headquarters last Friday. No timeline was given for the formation of the committee but Comrie said the Ministry had already set up an internal committee to oversee the possible hiring for new posts.
SPOT MARKET WEIGHTED AVERAGE RATE
CURRENCY -- PURCHASES -- SALES
___US$_______59.7880_____59.9620
__CAN$_______43.2004_____44.7421
___GB£_______97.1859_____99.1888
JA TO GET $102M UN GRANT
The Observer: In an effort to curb the soaring pregnancy and HIV/AIDS rates among young people, Jamaica will expand its educational and reproductive health care programmes with $102 million (US$1.7M) in funding from the United Nations.
Hetty Sarjeant, the local representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), announced the grant on October 10 when presenting her organisation's annual report on the state of the world's population.
The 83-page report focuses, this year, on the world's 1.2 billion adolescents, from 10 to 19 years old. They are the largest group of adolescents ever -- representing one fifth of the world's population -- and they face a number of problems, both in Jamaica and worldwide.
The report warned that a lack of funds for health-oriented educational programmes is helping to increase unwanted pregnancies, unsafe childbirth, and sexually transmitted diseases.
NO HUNGER PROBLEMS HERE
The Gleaner: Agriculture and food nutrition experts say Jamaica does not have a major problem with food hunger and malnutrition. However, the problem of people consuming the wrong foods is giving rise to major lifestyle-related diseases here.
Godfrey Xuereb, Public Health Nutritionist at the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), explained that while there are approximately 800 million people faced with the problem of hunger and malnutrition worldwide, "in Jamaica it is not that people are undernourished (or malnourished), but (that they) are wrongly nourished... we are getting the problem of people eating the wrong food rather than not eating enough."
Mr. Xuereb was attending the launch of World Food Day celebrated on October 16 annually at the Ministry of Agriculture, Hope Gardens in St. Andrew last Friday (Oct. 10).
FDI IN JAMAICA PLUNGES
The Gleaner: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Jamaica fell by US$235 million in 2002 over 2001, figures released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reveal.
Foreign Direct Investment represents the investment by foreign companies in a host country. This 22 per cent drop means that investment inflows in Jamaica were US$614 million in 2001 as against US$470 million in 2002.
Globally, FDI flows fell to the lowest level since 1998. Announcing these figures in Kingston recently, Bartholomew Nyarko-Mensah, the UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative in Jamaica, stated that Jamaica did better than some sections of the Caribbean and Latin America.
Globally, FDI flows fell to the lowest levels since 1998, and the Caribbean region is at a 36-year low. FDI is an important part of Jamaica's push for economic development. According to the World Investment Report, there were 177 foreign affiliates located in Jamaica.
WARDERS IN TRAINING AT NEWCASTLE
The Gleaner: History was created by the Correctional Services Department yesterday when it began training 30 female and 120 male recruits as correctional officers at the Newcastle Training Centre, St. Andrew.
Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of Corrections, told The Gleaner that this was the first time the Correctional Services Department was using the Newcastle centre. He said that the usual training venue, the Carl Rattray Centre, Runaway Bay, St. Ann, was not available.
He said the government was looking for ways to boost the professionalism of the staff, and after the current batch graduated, a further batch of 130 correctional recruits would begin training in November at the Carl Rattray Centre.
MORE POLICE PATROLS FOR PORTMORE
The Gleaner: The police in the Portmore communities of St. Catherine will be dispatching more patrols, starting yesterday, to counteract the growing crime problem which has been plaguing the area in the last few months.
At an emergency meeting of the Sabina Citizens' Association, Greater Portmore, last night, Supt. Glenford Hudson, head of the St. Catherine Police South Division, announced that starting yesterday "we are going to try and put some more people in the community on motorcycles and on foot."
With more police personnel on motorcycle and foot patrol, Supt. Hudson said, it would allow the police to have greater access to the various communities "because you know how the communities are made up; it is difficult at times to get motor vehicles in" (some places). This, he noted, would greatly reduce the response time of the police.
Contact: Celia Lindsay
For further information about any of these news items,contact the Overseas Department at
[email protected]
. The Jamaica Information Service web page address is
www.jis.gov.jm
.Telephone: (876) 926-3740-8 / 926-3590-8, Fax: (876) 926-6715
COMMENTARY
Monday October 13, 2003
THE GLEANER
CHILDREN AND RISKY BEHAVIOUR
IN A country where "nuff gal" is evidence of both personal and national progress, perhaps we ought not to be unduly shocked by the findings of a recent survey by the University of the West Indies medical students on the sexual behaviour of our children. We remind readers that childhood, by United Nations' definition, extends to age 18 years.
The findings of the researchers, disturbing as they are, are really not new but are closely similar to the results of a National Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviour and Practice survey carried out by the Ministry of Health three years ago. The average age of first sex is 14. The legal age of consent is 16.
Boys, the survey of 14- to 18-year-olds in 13 high schools across three parishes has found, have an average of four sexual partners with a high of 20 reported. The separation of fact and fiction may be blurred here, or perhaps the high scorers do nothing else during their high school years.
The early initiation and promiscuous behaviour of children is one thing. But the widespread failure to apply knowledge of safer sex for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections sets off alarm bells. HIV/AIDS is already a public health crisis with the Caribbean bearing the second highest rate of infection outside of devastated Africa. Over 70 per cent of children in the survey acknowledged that they had knowledge of reproduction, STIs, HIV/AIDS and contraception, and up to 90 per cent identified the condom as a means of protection.
Knowledge is not the problem. As the Behaviour Change specialist in the Health Ministry sums up the problem: Teenagers, like adults are not internalising prevention messages and they often do see themselves at risk for infection. Linked to a reckless, daredevil attitude about everything, including risky sexual behaviour, is a major national condomphobia. Men (and boys) must "ride" bareback and women (and girls) are too cowed, or too loving, to say no to sex and no to no condom.
On top of school violence and poor performance of the academic kind, the youth population of 15 to 25 accounts for the lion's share of the plague of crime and violence that is upon us and are most affected by HIV/AIDS, all with enormous social and economic consequences for the whole society.
Let us call a spade a spade (there are many more AIDS graves to dig), the society has long faced a crisis of irresponsible sexual behaviour which extends to even very young children. But the HIV/AIDS epidemic has seriously compounded that fact of history. Convincing people to go from knowledge to practice is the most critical challenge, and not even the 100 per cent certainty of death once AIDS is developed seem, at this stage, to be helping much.
The greatest ingenuity of behaviour change agents, including cultural, political, educational and religious leaders, is now urgently required.