KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: The National AIDS Secretariat NAS, will recommence its highly successful Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Road shows in Kingstown, the capital of St Vincent and the Grenadines, this week, as the country continues vigorously to pursue efforts to reduce and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. read more...

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ST THOMAS, USVI: In recognition of Mental Health Month, which is observed each May, US Virgin Islands First Lady Cecile deJongh is launching a month-long media campaign to raise awareness of the reality of mental illness. The initiative is a territory-wide effort involving mental health experts... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS): Jamaica's Minister of Health and Environment, Rudyard Spencer, has underscored the need for meaningful attention to be given to improving sanitation across the Caribbean, and for the people of the region to be educated about its importance. Spencer added that there was much work to be done. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica: Some US$5 million worth of medical equipment, supplies and health care will be delivered free of charge to the people of Jamaica this week by 80 medical volunteers from the San Diego-based Miles Ahead organization who arrived in Montego Bay on Saturday. read more...

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CASTRIES, St Lucia: Respect Initiative Social Health Education -- RISE (St.Lucia) Inc. -- in partnership with Mystic Elements, Sound City Crew, the National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Program, prepares to celebrate the closing of Youth month, April 2008, with the holding of Ride with Protection. read more...

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BRADES, Montserrat: Representatives of Leeds Metropolitan University have distributed information along with permission forms to parents of students enrolled in Montserrat’s educational institutions requesting authorization to conduct a study of the efficacy of adventure education within physical education. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): After witnessing Doctor Luis Pozo Blanco save the life of a young Surinamese man, neighbours of the locality of Djumu, way in the jungle of Suriname, said they now feel far safer with the presence of a Cuban specialist in their community. Blanco is a specialist in general medicine. read more...

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Vaccination is one of the most effective and efficient ways to put health within the reach of all. It combines individual well-being with family and social well-being. In fact, just as with threats to health, the benefits of vaccination know no borders. This makes it even more satisfying that the Sixth Vaccination Week in the Americas... read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) is now at a watershed period in its existence whereby it must continue to demonstrate its relevance and effectiveness in coordinating the regional response, said St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM): The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) is pumping US$1.2 million into the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): President Raul Castro's government will close more than half of Cuba's family doctor offices and boost staffing at the rest in a major reform of its vaunted free health care system, medical sources said. The overhaul came in response to public complaints. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS): Minister of Health and Environment, Rudyard Spencer, has said that cases of dengue in Jamaica have been declining, with the Ministry intensifying its efforts to stem the spread of this and other communicable diseases. Dengue is an infection caused by a virus... read more...

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ST THOMAS, USVI: Hailing it as a major boost in the fight against the devastation of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, US Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen applauded Wednesday’s passage of the US Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act. read more...

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HONG KONG, China (Reuters): Berries of a common weed found in India may be effective in fighting mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, a study has found. The disease has been spreading aggressively in Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching epidemic levels last year. read more...

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WINNIPEG, Canada: With North American health costs rising, the governments of Canada and several Caribbean nations are exploring how Caribbean medical tourism can be a smart solution for providing access to high quality and affordable health care, at a 50 to 80 percent lower cost than in Canada and the US. read more...

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The health of each man, woman and child in the Caribbean is being affected by climate change. In this, the first part of a series on the lead-up to World Health Day on April 7, the link between climate change and health is examined, and we look at what each individual can do to help combat this worrying trend. read more...

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CAMAGUEY, Cuba (ACN): A Cuban candidate vaccine against prostate cancer, produced by the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center, has entered its first clinical testing stage with promising results, according to preliminary evaluations. The product, known as Heberprovac, is currently being administered to patients. read more...

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: A draft policy document on HIV/AIDS in the workplace is soon to be laid before the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament. This was confirmed by Labour Minister, Rennie Dumas while addressing a function in Port of Spain. The HIV/AIDS draft policy is expected to protect workers. read more...

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic: Public Health minister Bautista Rojas stated that he will not meet with the leaders of the Dominican Republic doctors’ union (CMD) as the doctors continued their second day of strike action and said that no talks can be forthcoming until the intermittent strikes end. read more...

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CASTRIES, St Lucia: The St Lucia Arthritis and Lupus Association (SLALA) has launched an awareness campaign under the theme "Someone you know has Lupus." A ten-month programme of activities is scheduled to increase awareness and educate the public about the seriousness of the disease. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): More than 26,000 Surinamese patients have been treated by Cuban doctors who are working in Suriname as part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries. The Cuban doctors were distributed in coastal areas and places that are hard to reach as well as in the capital. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): Cuban health professionals serving in Guyana provide free treatment to more than 70 percent of the country's population, boosted by the opening of a new Integral Diagnostic Center in Leonora, the second in the country, which began operating last October in the community of Diamond. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Richard Sealy, Minister of Tourism, and Dr David Estwick, Minister of Health, National Insurance and Social Security, will be the featured speakers at an Exporting Services to Canada Seminar and Health and Wellness Tourism Strategy Session in Barbados. read more...

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HOLGUIN, Cuba (ACN): A new Cuban medication that helps stabilise blood cell performance in cancer patients under tumoral treatment is now in its clinical testing stage in the eastern city of Holguin. The project will be implemented in all major hospitals in the eastern territory over the next six months. read more...

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters): After visiting the world's oldest AIDS clinic and meeting HIV-positive Haitians, US first lady Laura Bush on Thursday urged lawmakers to approve tens of billions of dollars more to combat the disease. Bush has asked Congress to approve a doubling of funds to combat the disease globally. read more...

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LONDON, England: In June 2008, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance will start a project in Haiti to ensure that those who need HIV prevention, treatment, and care are able to access these services. The three-year project will work with local leaders, health providers, and community members. read more...

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HONG KONG, China (Reuters): Clarissa Poon was one of an estimated 50 million people who contracted mosquito-borne dengue fever last year. She spent an agonising week on a drip in a Bangkok hospital as she battled the potentially deadly disease, which has been spreading aggressively in Latin America and the Caribbean. read more...

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDs in Trinidad and Tobago is still said to be among several major factors that are contributing to the continued spread of HIV and AIDS in the country and the wider region. This was the finding on Wednesday during a symposium. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters): Black people treated for glaucoma are at increased risk of dying from heart and vascular disease, particularly those treated with timolol maleate eye drops, according to data from the Barbados Eye Studies. Similar associations have been observed in white populations, the investigators note. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM): Several issues of importance to St Kitts and Nevis were discussed at the just concluded 19th Inter-Sessional Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas. The Heads of Government urged Member States and CARICOM Universities to work assiduously to achieve integration. read more...

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