MONTEGO BAY, St James
The 18th meeting of CARICOM's Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), which ended Thursday in Montego Bay, St James, is being deemed a success by Health Minister Rudyard Spencer.
"We have just ended two days of bruising interventions and the result is a highly successful meeting in terms of effective interactions between the health and education sectors," Spencer stated at a press briefing held at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Spa, which was the conference's venue.
Among the matters dealt with by the ministers of health and education from the region, was the H1N1 virus. A report from the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre indicated that 362 tests had been carried out so far, of which 32 had been diagnosed as positive in The Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. On the weekend, however, five more cases were confirmed in Jamaica. One death was recorded in the Dominican Republic.
- JIS
Holness: Revolutionise education system
MONTEGO BAY, St James
Minister of Education Andrew Holness says the Jamaican education system is not student-centred and needs to be revolutionised, as it is stifling the creativity of the nation's youth.
"What education in Jamaica has done is to kill creativity. We are naturally creative people, but we don't incorporate the skills children bring to the school and try to enhance these skills," Holness said during his address at the launch of the United Nations Children's Fund-sponsored Child Friendly School's (CFS) Sensitisation Programme and Alternative Methods of Discipline in Schools, in Montego Bay, St James, on Friday.
He said much of the offensive lyrics being composed by a number of contemporary dancehall artistes is due to their creative skills not being honed during their school years.
- Claudia Gardner
KPH gets 17 new dialysis machines
KINGSTON
Minister of Health Rudyard Spencer is scheduled to officially commission 17 dialysis machines into service at the Kingston Public Hospital today.
The machines were provided through the joint effort of the National Health Fund (NHF), the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Educaton (CHASE) Fund and the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).
The total cost of the machines is US$386,000. Of this amount, the NHF contributed US$314,000, and the balance was provided by SERHA. The CHASE Fund has provided US$0,000 towards the maintenance of the 17 machines over a three-year period.
Spencer says the acquisition of these machines will provide improved and well-needed service to kidney patients to ensure that they enjoy a better quality of health.
- JIS