Carib Scope

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  • Pringle confident after casting ballot in the 2026 general election

    Pringle confident after casting ballot in the 2026 general election

    On Thursday, as general election voting got underway across the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, United Progressive Party (UPP) leader Jamale Pringle cast his own ballot and quickly stepped forward to make a public appeal for widespread voter participation, while sounding an optimistic note about his opposition party’s path to victory.

    Speaking to reporters immediately after completing his voting process, Pringle emphasized that the ballot box remains the most impactful channel through which citizens can shape the trajectory of their nation. He stressed that this election will determine the long-term future of Antigua and Barbuda, making it critical that every eligible voter exercises their democratic right to have a say.

    “While political parties of all stripes put forward their policy positions and ideological arguments, the ultimate and most authentic voice of the nation is the vote itself,” Pringle said, urging all registered citizens to make their voices count by heading to polling stations before voting closes.

    The UPP leader shared that he had toured multiple polling locations across the country earlier in voting day, and observed that election administration was running smoothly, with a consistent stream of voters arriving to cast their ballots. Though concerns have circulated in the lead-up to the election about potential low turnout driven by voter apathy, Pringle said he remained optimistic that the final turnout figure will be encouraging.

    To voters who may feel hesitant to participate, Pringle issued a straightforward call to action: regardless of whether they support his leadership or oppose it, every eligible citizen should still turn out to vote in line with their beliefs.

    Outlining his party’s agenda if voted into office, Pringle highlighted that the UPP ran on a “people first” policy platform, with immediate, targeted action on pressing economic challenges as a top priority. He confirmed that if his party secures a majority, key issues including the current high cost of living, poor road infrastructure, and persistent water shortages will all be addressed within the new government’s first 100 days in power.

    “Antigua and Barbuda residents can expect a government that moves aggressively to turn around the nation’s current economic situation,” Pringle said.

    The opposition leader went on to affirm his strong confidence in a UPP victory, arguing that given the country’s current circumstances, his party represents the only viable choice for voters. He added that the UPP’s policy pledges and forward-looking plans have resonated deeply with voters across the country throughout the campaign period.

    Looking ahead to vote counting, Pringle said he will remain in his own constituency throughout the final stages of voting, before joining other UPP members to wait for the final election results. He concluded with a prediction: “After that, we will get together and celebrate the victory.”

    Polling is ongoing at stations across Antigua and Barbuda, as voters select from candidates vying to form the nation’s next governing administration.

  • Antigua and Barbuda ranked 154th in CARICOM AI readiness index, 2025 report shows

    Antigua and Barbuda ranked 154th in CARICOM AI readiness index, 2025 report shows

    A new 2025 global assessment of government preparedness to leverage artificial intelligence for public good has revealed significant gaps in capacity across Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, published by leading international research firm Oxford Insights. Covering 195 nations worldwide, this year’s Government AI Readiness Index introduces a newly updated analytical framework built around six core pillars: Policy Capacity, AI Infrastructure, Governance, Public Sector Adoption, Development and Diffusion, and Resilience, replacing the index’s previous structure to better reflect evolving AI ecosystem needs.

    When ranked against the rest of the world, CARICOM nations see a wide spread in positions, stretching from 93rd all the way down to 189th. Only one CARICOM member, Jamaica, claims a spot in the global top 100, a outcome researchers attribute directly to the island nation’s recent launch of a formal national AI strategy. A second tier of mid-ranking regional states includes Trinidad and Tobago at 122nd and The Bahamas at 126th, while the 11 remaining member states fall far behind, with rankings between 144th and 189th.

    In addition to global rankings, the index assigns individual scores from 0 to 100 for each of the six measurement pillars across every assessed country. Aggregated regional data shows CARICOM’s strongest performing area is AI Infrastructure, which posts an average regional score of 33. Governance and Resilience tie for second place with average scores of 29 each. The region’s weakest pillars, by contrast, are Policy Capacity, and Development and Diffusion, which both carry an average regional score of just 13.

    Taken as a whole, the 2025 index data paints a clear picture of the CARICOM region’s current AI landscape: while member states have built comparatively stronger foundational digital infrastructure than many peer economies, they still lag far behind in developing formal national AI strategies, scaling up AI development, and rolling out applied AI solutions across public and private sectors.

  • Surinaamse Gids Exclusief gelanceerd als nieuw platform voor bedrijven en diensten

    Surinaamse Gids Exclusief gelanceerd als nieuw platform voor bedrijven en diensten

    After a decade of iterative development and setbacks, a groundbreaking new integrated business platform named Surinaamse Gids Exclusief has officially launched at Suriname’s Prince Ballroom on Wednesday. Created by founder Brayen Wouden, the multi-format ecosystem—consisting of a print magazine, official website, and mobile application, all operating under the same brand—aims to connect, promote, and maintain long-term visibility for business products and services from Suriname-based and international enterprises, bridging local entrepreneurs and the global market.

    For Wouden, the launch marks the fulfillment of a decade-long personal and professional dream. In remarks at the launch event, the founder outlined the platform’s far-reaching mission that extends far beyond a standard business directory or promotional outlet. “This is more than a business magazine, more than an app or an integrated website. It is a full ecosystem, a central hub where visibility and innovation converge,” Wouden explained. “It is a space where local entrepreneurs and members of the Surinamese diaspora can showcase their work in full, build an international network, and access information that is open and accessible to all segments of the population. We designed this platform to stimulate entrepreneurship, and build a critical connecting bridge between the government, private enterprises, and civil society organizations.”

    The Surinamese government holds a prominent presence on the new platform, which currently sources most of its published news content directly from official government sources. Beyond business promotion, the platform offers a wide range of additional public utilities: it hosts listings for job seekers searching for employment opportunities, and features options for people looking to buy or rent residential property. Organizers also confirmed that future updates will add functionality to promote local cultural, business, and community events to both domestic and international audiences.

    To accommodate businesses of all sizes and budget ranges, the platform operates on a tiered pricing package system, with options ranging from a free basic listing to a premium annual plan costing $950 USD. This structure allows enterprises to select the level of visibility and promotional access that aligns with their needs and resources.

    The launch event drew strong official representation from the Surinamese government, with multiple cabinet ministers in attendance. Foreign Affairs Minister Melvin Bouva and Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism Raymon Landveld both shared their optimistic expectations for the platform’s economic impact, noting that it will act as a public “storefront” for Surinamese companies and services, and projecting that it will make a tangible contribution to driving domestic economic growth in the coming years.

  • US–Venezuela Flights Resume After Nearly Seven Years

    US–Venezuela Flights Resume After Nearly Seven Years

    After nearly seven years of suspended air connectivity, commercial flights between the United States and Venezuela officially resumed on April 30, 2026, representing the most visible milestone to date in the gradual thawing of diplomatic and economic relations between the two nations.

    American Airlines, the first U.S. carrier to restart the route, operated the inaugural service that departed Miami International Airport and touched down in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. The non-stop journey took just under three and a half hours, with the return leg to Miami scheduled for the same day. Going forward, the airline will operate daily flights on the route, opening up reliable passenger travel for the first time since the 2019 U.S. government-imposed ban halted all civilian air service between the two countries.

    At the Miami departure gate, the relaunch was greeted by palpable excitement among passengers, a group that included traveling members of the public, journalists, and government representatives. Initial data from the carrier showed that roughly two-thirds of the flight’s seats were sold for the first trip, reflecting unmet demand for direct travel between the U.S. and Venezuela.

    The resumption of air service came after the Biden administration moved to lift travel restrictions earlier this month. U.S. authorities concluded that updated security assessments no longer flagged Venezuela as an unacceptable risk for passenger and crew safety. The policy shift on flights comes alongside a broader easing of U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela, a change designed to open new space for increased cross-border economic activity and reconnect the South American nation to global international markets.

    Even as both sides take incremental steps toward normalized relations, notable uncertainty still clouds Venezuela’s long-term political trajectory. The incumbent Venezuelan government has yet to publicly commit to a clear timeline for holding new national elections, while key opposition leaders—including prominent opposition figure María Corina Machado—have already stated that the opposition is prepared to participate in any competitive electoral contest that is called.

  • Joacobie honoured for athletics feats

    Joacobie honoured for athletics feats

    A group of track and field athletes from Saint Lucia have turned in a series of standout performances across recent collegiate competitions in the United States, highlighted by a historic award haul from high jumper Jenneil Jacobie at East Texas A&M University’s (ETAMU) annual end-of-season honors ceremony.

    ETAMU’s annual awards event, dubbed the Luckys, celebrates the university’s top Lion student-athletes across three core pillars: academic achievement, athletic excellence, and community and personal growth. Jacobie, a senior pre-med student hailing from Grande Riviere, Gros Islet, walked away from the ceremony with four major trophies. Her honors include recognition as Most Outstanding Women’s Field Athlete, Female Breakthrough Performance of the Year, the Lion Heart Award, and the prestigious Lib Huggins Award for Female Athlete of the Year.

    Jacobie’s award sweep comes after a career-defining 2026 season that followed tremendous personal and athletic adversity. After undergoing surgery that forced her to miss the entire 2025 competitive season, the senior jumped back to set a new ETAMU school record of 1.87 meters in the women’s high jump earlier this year. She also made history as the first athlete from ETAMU to qualify for and compete at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, capping a remarkable comeback story.

    Beyond Jacobie’s historic achievement, multiple other Saint Lucian student-athletes competing at U.S. colleges have earned top-three finishes and set new personal and seasonal bests across a slate of major national competitions.

    Natalie Albert, competing for the University of Memphis, secured third place in the women’s hammer throw at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, hosted at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Albert notched a throw of 55.82 meters (183 feet 2 inches) — her second-best performance in any competition, coming on the heels of a personal best 56.57-meter throw recorded earlier in the 2026 season.

    At the annual Penn Relays, one of the most prestigious outdoor collegiate track events in the country, Khailan Vitalis — the Saint Lucian national record holder in the men’s 110m hurdles and a junior transfer at Clemson University — also earned a spot on the podium. Vitalis ran 13.85 seconds in the preliminary round to advance to the championship division final, where he clocked 14.08 seconds into a stiff -1.3 meter per second headwind to claim third place overall.

    At the Drake Relays, another major midwest collegiate competition, Mya Hippolyte of Western Illinois University notched a new season-best time of 11.93 seconds in the women’s 100-meter sprint, finishing 17th overall in a deep field of top competitors from across the country.

    Additional standout results from other Saint Lucian athletes include:
    – Jola Felix took third place in the women’s 100-meter sprint at the Pioneer Classic with a time of 12.57 seconds, and finished fifth in the same event at the Zac Kindler Invitational with a 12.80-second run
    – Synai Glover won the women’s shot put event at the Virginia Pride Spring Kick-Off with a throw of 11.64 meters
    – Malaika George placed sixth in the women’s 400-meter run at the Fredonia Blue Devil Invite, clocking 1:00.85
    – Jasmine Stiede finished eighth in the women’s 800-meter run at the OU O Ring Opener with a time of 2:17.58
    – Michael Joseph placed 13th in the men’s 200-meter sprint at the John McDonnell Invitational with a run of 21.16 seconds

  • Jordan warns ‘unethical’ employers could be barred from public contracts

    Jordan warns ‘unethical’ employers could be barred from public contracts

    Against a backdrop of rapidly shifting work arrangements across the Caribbean, Barbados’ Labour Minister Colin Jordan has announced a sweeping new push to enforce labor protections, threatening to bar exploitative firms that evade social security obligations from accessing public sector government contracts. The tough new stance comes as the island nation grapples with the exponential growth of informal, non-standard and gig economy work, which has left millions of workers without basic social safety nets.

    The policy announcement was made during a heated debate in the House of Assembly, where lawmakers unanimously backed a private member’s resolution tabled by Toni Moore — a government backbencher who also serves as General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union. Moore’s resolution lays out a clear roadmap to extend critical social protections to workers in non-traditional employment roles, particularly the fast-expanding cohort of workers active in digital platform and gig economies.

    Jordan made clear that his primary target is the widespread culture of cutting corners that has seeped into two of Barbados’ biggest economic pillars: the construction and tourism industries. He argued that unethical firms gain an unfair competitive edge over law-abiding businesses by skipping out on mandatory National Insurance contributions and refusing to provide even the most basic labor rights to their staff, often pushing ethical employers out of the market entirely. To illustrate this harm, he shared a firsthand account of a responsible, worker-first construction firm that collapsed, while a competing firm that cut corners on labor protections continues to operate today. Labeling these exploitative practices as “dirty” and “unsavoury”, Jordan stressed that the national government holds a clear moral obligation to intervene to level the playing field for ethical businesses and protect vulnerable workers.

    “Those of us who sit here, particularly as ministers, have a responsibility to ensure that those organisations that treat their employees in a less than desirable manner… do not benefit from public funds. In other words, that they don’t get contracts,” Jordan told the chamber. He issued a direct appeal to leaders across infrastructure and productive sector ministries, demanding that both political and technical officials stop rewarding exploitative “bad actors” with taxpayer-funded contracts.

    Central to Jordan’s argument is a fundamental rebuke of the modern business worldview that frames workers as disposable units of production. He drew a sharp contrast between the meticulous maintenance and care that companies give to inanimate industrial machinery and the routine neglect faced by human workers, arguing that human workers deserve far greater protections than equipment, because of their inherent humanity. “We cover down machinery. We service machinery. We do all kinds of things for inanimate objects,” Jordan noted. “Workers who are human beings deserve not similar protection; they deserve greater protection because of their humanity. They are people.”

    This human-centered approach to economic development, Jordan argued, is the bedrock of Barbados’ social and economic progress over the past century. He credited decades of trade union advocacy and the working-class roots of the governing Barbados Labour Party for the major social gains the nation has secured since the 1930s, emphasizing that long-term economic productivity is impossible if the workers who drive growth — the “drivers of development” — are not guaranteed basic security and rights.

    The debate also shone a spotlight on the rise of what Jordan called the “precariat”, a term coined by economist Guy Standing to describe the growing global class of workers trapped in precarious, informal work with no consistent safety net. Jordan warned that the explosion of digital platforms for ride-hailing, freelance translation, remote data entry and other gig work has made it even harder to enforce social protections, because the platform acts as a distant intermediary with no direct human connection between employer and worker. “In the platform economy, you do not connect with a human being. The platform is the intermediary,” he explained.

    To build an evidence base for new policy reforms, Jordan revealed that the Decent Work Team of the International Labour Organization (ILO), based in Trinidad, has agreed to conduct a joint study of the platform economy across both Barbados and Grenada. The study will map the full size and scope of the platform workforce in both nations, filling a critical gap in current data that has delayed policy action.

    Jordan also pushed back against critics who argue that extending social security to informal and gig workers is too costly for the small island nation to sustain. He argued bluntly that any business that cannot afford to contribute to the social security system that allows retired senior citizens to afford basic necessities has no right to operate in Barbados. “if a business cannot contribute to a system that allows a 68-year-old citizen to buy basic groceries, that business “shouldn’t be existing in this country,” he said.

    Closing his address, Jordan rejected calls for political procrastination on labor reform, using a vivid everyday analogy to frame the government’s duty to act immediately. “We will not be waiting for any perfect time to protect people,” the minister declared. “We do not believe that the rain should be falling and you should wait for some appropriate time before you run and put an umbrella over the person’s head. Once you realize the rain is starting to fall, you run out.”

    By endorsing Moore’s resolution and committing to establish a tripartite technical committee in partnership with the Barbados Workers Union to advance reforms, the government has signaled a clear shift toward a “portable” social security model, where benefits follow the worker regardless of their job type, employment status or which platform they use to find work. The new framework marks one of the most significant overhauls of Barbados’ labor and social protection system in decades, responding to the changing nature of work in the 21st century.

  • Pressure mounts on executors in Jamaica after court blocks audit in Stewart estate dispute

    Pressure mounts on executors in Jamaica after court blocks audit in Stewart estate dispute

    A recent Supreme Court ruling in Jamaica has marked a major turning point in a years-long dispute over the estate of legendary tourism industry pioneer Gordon “Butch” Stewart, clearing a key legal barrier for the transfer of majority ATL Group shares to his son Adam Stewart. Attorneys representing Adam Stewart have publicly praised the court’s decision to dismiss a legal application brought by the estate’s acting executors, who had blocked the share transfer for years despite the terms of Butch Stewart’s uncontested will.

    Conrad George, a partner at the law firm Hart Muirhead Fatta, emphasized the significance of the ruling for his client. More than five years have passed since Butch Stewart’s passing, and in his publicly filed, unchallenged will, the business leader left a controlling majority stake in the ATL Group — the core holding of the Stewart family’s sprawling business empire — to Adam Stewart. Even after securing formal probate for the will, George explained, the existing executors have repeatedly refused to complete the share transfer. Their primary justification has been a claim that they must first commission a third-party red-flag audit of ATL Group conducted by an international accounting firm, tied to unsubstantiated allegations against Adam Stewart connected to Gorstew Limited, Appliance Traders Limited and their respective affiliate subsidiaries.

    To formalize their demand for the audit, executors Trevor Patterson, Cheryl Hamersmith-Stewart, Elizabeth “Betty-Joe” Desnoes and Hugh Martin Veira petitioned the Supreme Court for a court order authorizing the investigation. Justice Brown Beckford struck out the petitioners’ claim approximately two weeks ago, with the full written judgment officially released to parties last week. George called the ruling an important step toward forcing the executors to uphold their fiduciary duties and execute the transfer of shares exactly as outlined in Butch Stewart’s will.

    Legal and business observers across Jamaica have framed the judgment as a critical development in the protracted dispute over estate administration, which has centered on control of the ATL Group, a foundational asset for one of the country’s most high-profile and economically influential business families. In a separate, recent development tied to the estate, the court has appointed retired Court of Appeal Judge Hilary Phillips to serve as an additional executor. George noted that Phillips was not involved in the dismissed legal application, and expressed optimism that her addition to the executor team will bring greater balance and reasoned judgment to the group’s future decisions.

    However, the legal battle is far from over: within a day of the written judgment’s release, legal counsel for the executors — including Michael Hylton of the firm Hylton Powell — formally filed an appeal challenging Justice Beckford’s ruling. The appeal argues that the judge made a material error of law in two key findings: that the Jamaican Trusts Act does not apply to the case, and that the executors did not have legal standing to bring their original audit claim.

    Appellants contend that under Section 4(1) of the Trusts Act, any property held by one party for the benefit of another qualifies as a trust. When Butch Stewart’s shares were vested in the executors following his death, they automatically became trust property meeting all the criteria for a trust defined under the act, according to the appeal. The executors also push back against the judge’s reliance on the precedent set in *Heather Montague v GM and Associates*, arguing that the earlier ruling was handed down before the Trusts Act was enacted, meaning it did not address the law’s provisions or its applicability to cases like this one.

    The ongoing dispute has attracted close attention from Jamaica’s corporate and tourism sectors, as the final outcome is expected to set meaningful precedents for business governance and family business succession planning for large, influential corporate groups across the island.

  • Adam Stewart Wins Latest Jamaica Court Battle Over Butch Stewart Estate

    Adam Stewart Wins Latest Jamaica Court Battle Over Butch Stewart Estate

    A long-running family feud over the management of the late Jamaican hospitality magnate Gordon “Butch” Stewart’s business empire has hit a major turning point, after the Supreme Court of Jamaica threw out a legal bid by estate executors to launch a special “red flag” audit of two core holding companies tied to the tycoon. The court’s top finding centered on a critical question of legal authority: the executors did not have the standing to bring the claim under Jamaica’s Trusts Act, the statute they relied on to file their suit.

    Justice Cresencia Brown Beckford first delivered her ruling orally during a March 26 court hearing, and published the full 24-page written judgment this past Wednesday. The decision blocks the executors’ push to audit Gorstew Limited, Appliance Traders Limited, and all of their affiliated subsidiary businesses.

    Butch Stewart, the founder of the iconic Sandals Resorts international hotel chain, passed away on January 4, 2021. Three years after his death, in 2024, the four executors named in his will submitted an urgent court application for approval to launch the targeted audit. The group raised sharp red flags about corporate governance and operational management of the companies in the years following Stewart’s death. The four executors are Trevor Patterson, Cheryl Hamersmith-Stewart – Stewart’s common-law widow – Elizabeth “Betty Joe” Desnoes, and Martin Veira.

    Adam Stewart, Butch Stewart’s son and the current head of Sandals Resorts who stepped into his father’s role leading the business empire, launched a counter-application to have the executors’ claim struck out entirely. Adam Stewart’s legal team rejected all allegations of mismanagement, and argued the suit amounted to an abuse of court process. Their core legal contention was that the executors held no authority under the Trusts Act to bring their claim, a position the Supreme Court ultimately endorsed.

    In her written judgment, Justice Brown Beckford drew a clear legal distinction between the roles of executor and trustee, noting that while the two positions may sometimes involve overlapping tasks, they are not legally interchangeable. The judge emphasized that the executors brought this claim in their formal capacity as executors of Stewart’s will, not as trustees of the estate. Since the Trusts Act only governs actions taken by trustees, it does not grant legal standing for executors to bring this type of audit request.

    “In view of this finding, the executors in seeking to carry out this red flag audit are acting [as] executors and not trustees of the will of the Founder,” Justice Brown Beckford wrote. “In that event, they do not have standing under the Trusts Act to bring this claim.”

    The judge further clarified that even if the court accepted that the executors could be legally classified as trustees, the specific action they sought – the audit – fell squarely under core executorial duties rather than trustee functions. She pointed to the claimants’ own court filing, which explicitly identifies the applicants as executors, not trustees, confirming the capacity in which the suit was brought.

    Addressing a common wording convention in wills, the judge also noted that labeling named fiduciaries as both “Executors and Trustees” throughout the document does not automatically turn executors into trustees for all legal purposes. In Stewart’s will, this shared nomenclature was only for administrative convenience, not a legal reclassification of their roles, the court found. A close review of the will’s relevant clauses confirmed that the shares for the ATL Group – which encompasses the two targeted companies, Gorstew Limited and Appliance Traders Limited – were never placed in a formal trust structure.

    The court also considered a secondary argument from Adam Stewart’s legal team, which objected to the executors’ plan to hire the U.S.-based accounting firm Alvarez and Marsal to lead the audit. Stewart’s team argued that hiring a foreign firm without proper local accreditation would violate Jamaica’s Public Accountancy Act. Justice Brown Beckford noted this argument was “not without merit” on its face, but ultimately did not need to rule on the point, since the application before the court only requested general authorization to conduct an audit, not formal approval of the specific firm.

    As part of the ruling, the court ordered the losing side – the four executors – to cover all of Adam Stewart’s legal costs associated with the case. The judge granted the executors permission to file an appeal of the decision with a higher court if they choose to move forward with a challenge.

    The ruling marks a clear, substantial legal victory for Adam Stewart and his siblings Brian Jardim and Jaime Stewart, who have been locked in a protracted internal dispute over the administration of Butch Stewart’s multi-million dollar estate. The case featured a roster of top Jamaican legal talent: Walter Scott KC, Ian Wilkinson KC, Conrad George, Anna Gracie, André Sheckleford, and Gabrielle Chin represented Adam Stewart, while Michael Hylton KC, Kevin Powell KC, and Timera Mason led the legal team for the executors. John Graham KC and Peta-Gaye Manderson appeared on behalf of Gorstew Limited.

  • Senior Meteorological Officer warns of rising ocean temperatures ahead of hurricane season

    Senior Meteorological Officer warns of rising ocean temperatures ahead of hurricane season

    As the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season draws near, senior meteorological officials have sounded a warning over the ongoing trend of rising ocean temperatures, a key driver that amplifies the formation and intensity of tropical weather systems. Speaking in a Wednesday interview on DBS Radio’s popular public education segment *Disaster and You*, Senior Meteorological Officer Marshall Alexander broke down the latest climate observations that set the stage for this year’s storm activity.

    Alexander emphasized that anomalously warm sea surfaces act as critical fuel for the development and strengthening of tropical cyclones. The long-term trend of rising ocean temperatures has consistently hit new milestones in recent years, he noted, with 2025 marking a previous global record for ocean warmth and 2026 already on track to surpass that mark. This consistent upward trajectory has created conditions primed for more active storm development across the Atlantic basin.

    Official seasonal forecasts for the Atlantic hurricane season are overseen by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which releases two updated outlooks each year: an initial projection in late May ahead of the season’s official start, and a second update in August, when storm activity typically reaches its peak. Alexander confirmed that local meteorological teams in Dominica are aligning their preparations with NOAA’s forecasting framework to keep communities informed.

    While warmer ocean waters raise the likelihood of more frequent and stronger tropical storms and hurricanes this season, Alexander highlighted a mitigating factor that could work in Dominica’s favor: the ongoing El Niño climate pattern. El Niño typically generates increased vertical wind shear across the tropical Atlantic, a weather condition that disrupts developing storm systems by tearing apart their internal structure and dissipating their accumulated energy. “If a tropical system does form, that wind shear will break up or disrupt the system’s energy before it can strengthen and pose a threat,” Alexander explained.

    The 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season will officially kick off on June 1 and conclude on November 30, spanning the six-month period when 97 percent of all tropical cyclone activity historically occurs in the Atlantic basin. Meteorological agencies across the Caribbean are already finalizing preparedness plans, urging coastal and inland communities to review emergency protocols and stock up on essential supplies ahead of the first potential storm formations.

  • Surveillance ‘critical’ as vaccine defences strengthened

    Surveillance ‘critical’ as vaccine defences strengthened

    As global outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and the resumption of unrestricted international travel expose long-dormant gaps in population immunity across the Caribbean, Barbados has launched an urgent push to strengthen its national immunization framework and disease surveillance systems to fend off renewed public health threats. Though the island nation built a decades-long reputation for successful VPD control through consistent vaccination programs, health leaders confirm the country is now working to reverse recent declines in coverage and rebuild robust defenses against high-risk pathogens like measles and polio.

    This week, Barbados’ public health authorities accelerated the national immunization campaign, expanding access to life-saving vaccines by bringing services directly into local communities through a scheduled series of open house events at polyclinics across the country. Speaking at a nurse training workshop hosted by the National Union of Public Workers in Dalkeith on Wednesday, Chief Public Health Nurse Larond Hyland outlined the new challenges facing the nation’s once-heralded immunization program.

    “For decades, Barbados, like much of the Caribbean, achieved extraordinary success controlling vaccine-preventable diseases through our immunization programs,” Hyland told attendees, which included both public and private sector nursing staff. “But in recent years, we have seen coverage decline, and we are now in an active recovery phase that demands urgent strengthening. To protect our most vulnerable communities and reach the 95 percent herd immunity threshold critical for measles control, we cannot afford to relax our efforts.”

    Hyland pointed to alarming trends in North America as a warning for the Caribbean: both the United States and Canada have already lost their official measles elimination status in recent years due to sustained, ongoing outbreaks. While the Caribbean region has not yet reached that tipping point, Barbados’ heavy reliance on international tourism leaves it uniquely exposed to imported cases of highly contagious VPDs.

    “Tourism is the backbone of our economy, but it also makes us extremely vulnerable to imported disease,” Hyland emphasized. “We must never lose sight of that risk. Infants are our most at-risk group – they are not yet fully vaccinated, and if an imported case takes hold in this population, the consequences could be catastrophic.”

    Under the country’s updated public health strategy, measles and polio have been flagged as top priority pathogens for continuous active monitoring. Hyland stressed that retaining VPD elimination status requires unwavering vigilance and regular verification, even for diseases that have been controlled for decades. Measles, one of the most contagious viral pathogens circulating globally, has been monitored by Barbadian health authorities for more than 25 years as part of the regional elimination effort, while polio surveillance remains critical despite decades of successful eradication efforts in the Americas.

    Laboratory confirmation is a core pillar of the country’s enhanced surveillance framework. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) requires Barbadian authorities to submit a set number of laboratory-tested samples annually to verify suspected cases of measles and polio, a process that also helps health officials assess the overall performance of their immunization program. For example, a spike in confirmed measles cases among fully vaccinated people would signal a potential gap in vaccine effectiveness or coverage that requires immediate intervention.

    Hyland called on all healthcare providers across Barbados – not just physicians – to strictly adhere to established protocols for suspect cases, particularly for patients presenting with fever and unexplained rashes, a common early symptom of measles. She also highlighted the critical need for collaboration with the private healthcare sector, given that international tourists are far more likely to seek care at private facilities than public polyclinics or public emergency departments when visiting the island.

    To illustrate this risk, Hyland shared details of a recent incident involving an unvaccinated child from the United Kingdom who arrived in Barbados and developed measles symptoms, seeking care at a private facility. The case triggered urgent public health response protocols and laid bare the gaps that can emerge when private sector providers are not fully integrated into national surveillance efforts.

    “We can have perfectly designed plans in the public sector, but every link in the public health response chain matters,” Hyland said. “Unvaccinated tourists who develop measles symptoms will almost always turn to private care first, so we need our private sector colleagues to be just as trained and prepared to act quickly.”

    Reinforcing her call for action, Hyland cited longstanding guidance from the World Health Organization, describing vaccination as “the most important public health intervention in history, full stop.” She closed by encouraging all Barbadian healthcare workers to remain proactive and engaged in the work of strengthening national surveillance and immunization systems to protect the island’s 20 years of hard-won public health gains.