Carib Scope

分类： health

  • Jusvinza Demonstrates Efficacy Against Chikungunya

    Jusvinza Demonstrates Efficacy Against Chikungunya

    On September 24, 2026, Cuban medical and scientific researchers announced promising top-line results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of Jusvinza, a homegrown biologic therapy developed by the island nation’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), confirming its superior performance in treating post-acute and chronic Chikungunya virus infections compared to conventional care.

    The multi-institutional research initiative, codenamed Project Fénix, spanned three sequential clinical trial phases and brought together leading Cuban health institutions: CIGB, Diez de Octubre Clinical-Surgical Teaching Hospital — a national reference center for arthritis care — and Havana’s Clínica 1 de la Lisa. The Phase 3 trial, which launched in mid-March 2026, enrolled 300 patients across treatment sites. Participants received nine subcutaneous doses of Jusvinza over a 45-day treatment period.

    Findings were presented during a regular working meeting between Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and the country’s leading scientists and public health experts. Dr. Julio Baldomero Hernández, Director of Clinical Research at CIGB, told attendees that 80% of trial participants — 240 out of 300 total patients — achieved full remission or low disease activity by the end of the 45-day treatment window. This marks an absolute improvement of more than 45 percentage points over outcomes from historical control groups receiving standard conventional care.

    At the 12-week post-treatment follow-up assessment, the share of patients with either recovery or sustained low disease activity climbed to 86.7%. This rate far outpaces the 50% efficacy benchmark reported in earlier observational studies and for existing conventional Chikungunya treatments. Crucially, the trial confirmed Jusvinza delivers consistent benefits across all patient subgroups: it works for individuals in early post-acute stages of infection as well as those with long-standing chronic Chikungunya, significantly outperforming both the untreated natural progression of the disease and standard treatment protocols, Dr. Hernández emphasized.

    Originally developed to target rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, Jusvinza has already established a track record of broad clinical utility. It previously played a key role in Cuba’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating efficacy in managing a range of inflammatory virus-related complications.

    While the Phase 3 trial results are overwhelmingly positive, the therapy has not yet received regulatory approval for widespread clinical use. Researchers plan to imminently submit a full marketing and clinical use application to Cuba’s national regulatory body, the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED), to secure the necessary authorization for general therapeutic use.

  • Global Partnership launched to advance equity and transform Sickle Cell Care

    Global Partnership launched to advance equity and transform Sickle Cell Care

    On September 23, 2026, a landmark new global initiative aimed at closing gaping disparities in sickle cell disease care around the world officially launched at a high-level event in New York, with the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis stepping into a leading role to drive forward this critical global health action.

    Dubbed OneSCD: A Global Partnership to Advance Equity and Transform Sickle Cell Care, the initiative unites a broad coalition of international stakeholders, all bound by a shared goal: to expand universal access to high-quality care for people living with sickle cell disease and eliminate systemic gaps that leave marginalized communities underserved. Attendees at the launch included representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, frontline medical professionals, patient advocacy groups, and other global health partners. The Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley, Acting Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, led the federation’s delegation at the event, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister and Health Minister Dr. Terrance Drew.

    In his address, Hanley emphasized that Saint Kitts and Nevis was proud to co-host an initiative dedicated to translating breakthroughs in medical research into tangible, life-changing improvements for the millions of people impacted by this genetic blood disorder. “No child’s opportunity to live a full and healthy life should be determined by the circumstances of their birth or the country they call home,” Hanley stated.

    He went on to acknowledge that while medical science has delivered major advances in early detection, evidence-based treatment, and complication prevention for sickle cell disease in recent decades, access to these life-saving tools remains deeply unequal across regions and income groups. This global inequity is what the OneSCD partnership was designed to address.

    Hanley also outlined the concrete steps Saint Kitts and Nevis has already taken at the national level to strengthen sickle cell care and broader hematology services. These investments include upgrades to the country’s national Blood Bank, expanded community blood donation programs, the reactivation of a centralized national blood donor registry, and financial support through the Children’s Medical Fund for eligible families whose children need specialized medical treatment abroad.

    He further highlighted Prime Minister Drew’s long-standing, personal advocacy for improved sickle cell care across the Caribbean region. That advocacy includes ongoing collaborations with leading medical specialists in Germany, and a landmark call Drew made during his 2024 tenure as Chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority to establish regional centers of medical excellence, including a dedicated facility for sickle cell disease treatment and research.

    For Hanley, OneSCD represents a rare, critical opportunity to scale up national and regional progress through coordinated global collaboration. By pooling shared expertise, directing targeted investment to under-resourced health systems, and centering equity in every aspect of its work, the partnership can turn fragmented local efforts into cohesive global action. “Through this partnership, let us move from fragmented efforts to coordinated action, and from unequal access to a future in which quality sickle cell care is available to every child and adult who needs it,” Hanley said.

    The federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis has fully endorsed the OneSCD partnership, framing it as a transformative step toward uniting the global community behind a coordinated response to sickle cell disease. The initiative’s ultimate goal is to ensure that cutting-edge treatment and high-quality care finally reach the underserved people and communities that need it most.

  • “Our task is not to wind down UNAIDS”: Acting Prime Minister Hanley tells UNGA81 side event

    “Our task is not to wind down UNAIDS”: Acting Prime Minister Hanley tells UNGA81 side event

    NEW YORK, September 24, 2026 — At a high-profile side event coinciding with the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Acting Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Hanley, delivered a resolute plea to the global community: reject any plans to downsize or wind down the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and instead commit to sustained, robust funding and international collaboration to meet the 2030 target of ending AIDS as a public health threat.

    Dr. Hanley opened the UNAIDS Transformation Side Event by framing the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS as both an urgent political priority and a defining measure of global collective solidarity. For small island nations like Saint Kitts and Nevis, and across the broader Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc, UNAIDS has proven irreplaceable, he explained, providing indispensable strategic direction, specialized technical expertise, and data-driven insights that underpin the design of effective national and regional HIV response policies.

    “For Saint Kitts and Nevis, and indeed across the entire CARICOM region, the response to HIV/AIDS is not only a political imperative, but a profound test of our collective solidarity and our commitment to ending a pandemic that has taken too many lives,” Dr. Hanley told attendees, which included global leaders, public health stakeholders, and AIDS response advocates.

    While acknowledging the meaningful progress that the global community has made in curbing the spread of HIV and improving access to life-saving treatment over the past four decades, Dr. Hanley emphasized that the mission remains far from complete. Hitting the 2030 end-goal, he stressed, depends entirely on three core pillars: unwavering political commitment from all member states, deepened cross-border international cooperation, and a fully empowered, resourced UNAIDS to coordinate the global response.

    Dr. Hanley also highlighted the organization’s longstanding leadership in keeping HIV/AIDS at the top of the global policy agenda, noting that UNAIDS has consistently provided critical technical and political backbone for every UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting focused on the pandemic, helping align global action around shared targets.

    “Our collective task is not to wind down UNAIDS, but to support it, fully resource it, and leverage its unique multisectoral expertise to end AIDS once and for all,” Dr. Hanley stated.

    He pointed to the 2026 UN High-Level Meeting Political Declaration as clear proof of the global mandate for this approach, noting that the document explicitly calls on member states to expand support, utilize UNAIDS’ unique capabilities, and provide full, consistent resourcing for the Joint Programme.

    In closing, Dr. Hanley reaffirmed the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis’ unwavering commitment to partnering with CARICOM, UNAIDS, and the entire global public health community to accelerate progress, remove gaps in access to care, and deliver on the shared promise of eliminating AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

  • ASPIRE Calls for Wider Contraceptive Access Ahead of World Contraception Day

    ASPIRE Calls for Wider Contraceptive Access Ahead of World Contraception Day

    Every September 26, global reproductive health advocates mark World Contraception Day (WCD), a coordinated campaign designed to shine a spotlight on the critical need for equitable access to reliable contraception, counter widespread misinformation, and ensure all people can make autonomous decisions about their reproductive futures. This year’s WCD theme, “No Barriers, Just Choices: Contraceptive Access Now,” amplifies a urgent demand to eliminate systemic and legal obstacles that leave millions without the resources they need to plan their families.

    For the past four years, regional advocacy group ASPIRE has worked to challenge the constitutionality of existing abortion laws across the Caribbean, building on a recent successful legal victory in Dominica. The organization now awaits a key court ruling on the challenge with cautious, measured optimism, framing the outcome as a make-or-break moment for reproductive rights in the region.

    At its core, WCD’s mission is straightforward: to educate the public on the full range of contraceptive options available today, breaking down misconceptions that often prevent people from accessing the method that best fits their needs. Options span five broad categories: barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragms; hormonal methods including oral pills and injectable contraceptives; long-acting reversible contraceptives like intrauterine devices (IUDs) and subdermal implants; permanent sterilization methods such as vasectomy for men and tubal ligation for women; and emergency contraception, which can prevent unplanned pregnancy up to 72 to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse.

    Advocates emphasize that expanding contraception access is not just a matter of individual autonomy—it is a proven strategy to reduce the number of unsafe abortions globally. The root of high abortion rates, they argue, is not demand for abortion itself, but unplanned pregnancy. By increasing access to reliable contraception and supporting consistent use, communities can cut rates of unintended pregnancy and, in turn, reduce the number of people seeking abortions.

    New regional data collected across the Caribbean paints a stark picture of the current reproductive health crisis. Among women seeking care at public health clinics across the region, 80% reported that their most recent pregnancy was unplanned. Nearly 40% of these unplanned pregnancies end in abortion, and a shocking analysis of abortion patient data reveals that 81% of people who received an abortion were teenagers when they had their first procedure. Of that group, 59% were under the age of 16—statistics that point to widespread child sexual abuse and statutory rape, a problem long overlooked by regional policymakers.

    These sobering numbers make clear that incremental changes to abortion law are not enough to address the region’s challenges, ASPIRE argues. Systemic change, including reform of outdated contraception access laws, is urgently needed. For example, nearly 40 years ago in 1984, the region amended the Age of Majority Act CAP 11, s.13 to legally allow 16-year-olds to access reproductive health care, including contraception, without parental consent. To this day, however, the law remains virtually unknown: adolescents, healthcare workers, health educators, and social workers are all largely unaware of the policy change, which has never been effectively disseminated to the public.

    That 1984 reform only closed one critical legal gap: it aligned the age of contraceptive access with the age of consent, which is set at 16, eliminating the previous absurd requirement that people who could legally engage in sexual activity still needed parental permission to access contraception until age 18. But ASPIRE argues that further reform is needed to address the reality of early sexual debut across the region. To meaningfully tackle the crisis of teen pregnancy and child exposure to unprotected sex, there should be no arbitrary age restrictions on contraceptive access, the group says. Instead, policymakers should trust the professional judgment of frontline healthcare workers to provide confidential, appropriate care to young people regardless of their age.

    The current reality across the Caribbean is dire: the region has the highest abortion rate in the world, and the second earliest average age of sexual debut globally. ASPIRE points to a glaring, unjust inconsistency in existing law to highlight the failures of current policy: the region holds children as young as 12 criminally responsible for their actions, yet denies them the ability to access confidential contraceptive care without parental consent until age 16. This four-year gap between criminal responsibility and reproductive autonomy makes no sense, advocates say, and puts countless young people at unnecessary risk of unintended pregnancy and abuse.

    As the world marks World Contraception Day 2024, ASPIRE is calling on regional governments to act immediately to remove all barriers to contraceptive access, educate the public about existing reproductive rights, and address the root causes of the Caribbean’s ongoing reproductive health crisis.

  • Wellness Week Pushes Healthier Everyday Choices

    Wellness Week Pushes Healthier Everyday Choices

    Across Belize, the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) has kicked off its annual Wellness Week 2026, a nationwide campaign focused on redefining what wellness means for everyday life, going far beyond the walls of doctors’ offices and medical treatment. This year’s initiative centers on the understanding that long-term health is shaped by a combination of individual choices, daily habits, and the surrounding environments where people live, work, and connect with their communities.

    Kathleen Azueta Cho, Technical Advisor for Health Education at the MoHW, explained that sustainable public health cannot rely on treating illness alone. Instead, she argues that meaningful progress requires intentional work to embed wellness into daily routines and create spaces that make healthy choices easy and accessible for everyone. “Wellness isn’t just an individual responsibility,” Azueta Cho noted during the campaign launch. “Our homes, workplaces, and community spaces all shape the choices we can make. If these environments don’t support healthy habits, it becomes much harder for people to stick with them.” This year’s Wellness Week theme, “Promoting Health, Transforming Environments,” highlights that dual focus on individual action and systemic support.

    A key priority of this year’s campaign is expanding wellness access in workplaces, where most Belizean adults spend the majority of their waking hours. Health officials are calling on employers across all sectors to integrate small, sustainable wellness practices into regular workdays, rather than attempting costly overhauls. Simple changes like scheduled stretch breaks, guided yoga sessions, workplace health talks, and designated time for physical activity can create a culture that prioritizes both physical and mental health. Azueta Cho emphasized that these changes benefit employers as much as workers: healthy work environments reduce stress, cut down on unscheduled sick days, and boost overall productivity. “When workers feel supported, they are more focused, happier, and perform better,” she explained. “A culture of wellness doesn’t just help employees—it strengthens the entire organization.”

    Wellness Week features a full slate of free community activities hosted at public health centers across the country, including group yoga classes, interactive health fairs, and a soca jam session scheduled for Friday evening in Belmopan. A core event of the week is a national push for preventive screening, encouraging all Belizeans to get their key health numbers checked. Azueta Cho stressed that early detection through screening allows for earlier intervention, reduces the risk of long-term complications, and is a foundational part of preventive wellness.

    Unlike one-off health events, the ultimate goal of Wellness Week is to plant seeds for long-term change. Organizers want to encourage Belizeans to ask small, actionable questions about their own habits and surroundings: What small change can I make today to move closer to a healthier lifestyle? How can I adjust my space to better support my well-being? By framing wellness as an everyday journey rather than a single week of activities, the MoHW hopes to create lasting cultural change that improves public health across the nation for years to come.

  • Belize’s Wellness Week 2026 Focuses on Healthier Choices

    Belize’s Wellness Week 2026 Focuses on Healthier Choices

    As the small Central American nation of Belize continues to grapple with a growing public health crisis driven by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), national health authorities have launched Wellness Week 2026, a four-day initiative aimed at fostering healthier lifestyles and creating supportive environments for long-term well-being. Running from September 22 to 25 under the official theme “Promoting Health, Transforming Environments,” this year’s campaign frames public health as a collective responsibility rather than solely an individual choice.

    The Ministry of Health and Wellness, which organized the event, emphasizes that population health outcomes are determined not just by personal decisions, but by the conditions in which people go about their daily lives — from their homes and workplaces to schools and community spaces. Kathleen Azueta Cho, a health education technical advisor with the ministry, explained that the core goal of this year’s Wellness Week is to build systems and environments that make healthy decisions accessible and straightforward for all Belizeans.

    “What that message is saying is that it’s not simply about individuals — healthy habits extend far beyond personal choices,” Cho noted in a press briefing. “It also entails creating the environments that support the choices and the decisions that we make around our well-being.”

    For years, NCDs including cardiovascular disease and diabetes have ranked as the leading causes of illness, long-term disability, and premature death across Belize. Public health officials have identified four key preventable risk factors driving this trend: unhealthy dietary patterns, sedentary lifestyles, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption. Wellness Week 2026 forms part of a broader national strategy that includes ongoing initiatives like BELIZE MOVES, which works to reduce the population-level impact of NCDs through sustained public engagement.

    A full slate of community and public events has been organized across the country to mark the week, including interactive nutrition education workshops, hands-on healthy cooking demonstrations, group physical activity sessions through the BELIZE MOVES program, guided yoga and mindfulness sessions, workplace wellness training seminars, and free confidential health screenings. Cho stressed that preventive screenings are a critical pillar of the initiative, noting that early detection of underlying health conditions allows for earlier intervention and helps patients avoid life-altering complications down the line. “Know your numbers because screenings are an important part of wellness,” she said.

    This year’s Wellness Week also aligns with a regional public health observance, coming as Belize holds the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), a regional body that coordinates cooperation on social and public health issues across Central America. As the country takes on this leadership role, the initiative serves as a demonstration of Belize’s commitment to addressing shared regional public health challenges through targeted action and collaborative policy.

  • 13 New Medical Interns Begin Their Journey at KHMH

    13 New Medical Interns Begin Their Journey at KHMH

    Central America’s Belize is taking a key step to strengthen its domestic healthcare workforce, as the nation’s flagship referral medical center, Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), has formally welcomed 13 newly graduated doctors into its national Medical Internship Program.

    Administered through Belize’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, the 12-month intensive training initiative is designed to help recent medical school graduates gain the practical skills and experience required to earn full medical licensure to practice across the country. Unlike traditional classroom-based learning, the program centers on immersive, hands-on clinical training that puts interns in direct contact with real patient care scenarios under the supervision of seasoned KHMH medical professionals.

    Over the course of their training year, the new cohort will rotate through a wide range of critical medical disciplines at the hospital. Trainees will gain experience in settings ranging from general inpatient wards to specialized operating rooms, with focused rotations in high-demand areas including emergency medicine and internal medicine. KHMH emphasized in an official public statement that the mentorship-driven model prioritizes “learning by doing”, noting that attending physician mentors are equally committed to nurturing the interns’ professional growth and delivering high-quality care to every patient.

    Recent documentation from the hospital shows the 13 new interns participating in an orientation tour of the KHMH facility ahead of starting their rotations. In its remarks marking the orientation, the hospital called the program’s launch the start of “a transformative year that will shape the next generation of Belizean doctors.”

    The new internship cohort joins KHMH during a period of facility expansion for the hospital. Earlier this September, the institution celebrated its 31st year of public service by opening two new specialized care units, one of which is an expanded, upgraded Hemodialysis Unit that will increase access to critical kidney care for patients across Belize.

  • SLBMC Reaffirms Breastfeeding Support During Breastfeeding Week

    SLBMC Reaffirms Breastfeeding Support During Breastfeeding Week

    As Antigua and Barbuda prepares to mark its 2026 Breastfeeding Awareness Week from September 21 to 25, the nation’s leading Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (SLBMC) has publicly reaffirmed its long-standing dedication to protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding to give every newborn a healthy foundation for life.

    Ann-Marie Browne-Isaac, who chairs the medical centre’s dedicated Breastfeeding Committee, outlined the facility’s ongoing core initiatives tied to its Baby Friendly Hospital designation. She highlighted that SLBMC has consistently prioritized two evidence-based practices: facilitating breastfeeding within the first critical hour after birth, and fully implementing the World Health Organization and UNICEF-endorsed Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding across all maternity wards.

    Beyond hospital walls, Browne-Isaac emphasized that meaningful support for breastfeeding mothers cannot end at discharge. A collective, cross-sector effort is required to build a supportive ecosystem, with key roles for national government agencies, local employers, educational institutions, family units, and community organizations. Each stakeholder has a unique part to play in removing barriers that often force mothers to stop breastfeeding earlier than recommended, she explained.

    Browne-Isaac also outlined the far-reaching collective benefits of expanding robust breastfeeding support. Beyond individual health outcomes, stronger systems reduce long-term health and financial pressures for families, cut rates of workplace absenteeism as children experience fewer acute illnesses, and ease strain on local public health systems. From a clinical perspective, she added that long-term breastfeeding is linked to proven reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers in birthing parents, as well as lower rates of childhood obesity and type 1 and 2 diabetes in children.

    In a formal statement, SLBMC confirmed that its ongoing work centers on three core pillars: expanding public and clinical education around breastfeeding, fostering cross-sector collaboration to strengthen support systems, and reframing public conversations around breastfeeding to normalize the practice and reduce stigma for nursing mothers. The institution closed by calling on all public and private institutions, workplaces, families, and community partners to join in the effort, to help all mothers in Antigua and Barbuda continue breastfeeding with confidence, regardless of their personal circumstances.

  • Free Vision Screenings Underway in Glanvilles

    Free Vision Screenings Underway in Glanvilles

    A new public health initiative focused on improving vision care access is rolling out across Glanvilles, offering no-cost eye examinations and reading glasses to all local residents aged 40 and older. The program is a collaborative effort between the island nation’s Ministry of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs and the global non-profit organization RestoringVision, which works to eliminate uncorrected vision impairment in underserved communities around the world.

    Two local government ministers, Randy Baltimore, Minister of State for St Philip’s North, and Kiz Johnson, Minister of State for St Philip’s South, recently visited one of the program’s mobile screening sites to tour the facility and speak with participating residents. During their visit, both policymakers urged eligible locals to make use of this new free service, emphasizing the far-reaching benefits of clear vision for everything from daily household tasks to maintaining personal independence as people age.

    Under the terms of the program, any resident who meets the 40-year age minimum can receive a comprehensive on-site vision assessment at no charge. If the examination finds that an individual needs reading glasses to correct common age-related vision issues like presbyopia, they receive the prescription eyewear completely free of charge as well, removing financial barriers that often prevent older adults from seeking necessary eye care.

  • Family claims PMH surgeon admits to surgical error

    Family claims PMH surgeon admits to surgical error

    A Bahamian family is calling for full transparency and legal accountability after a devastating surgical complication left 42-year-old Lamond Brice with necrotic intestines at Nassau’s Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), alleging hospital leadership concealed the error that caused his life-threatening condition for days. Brice, a loving father and beloved family member described by relatives as the constant “life of the party” before his procedure, was admitted to PMH on September 3 to remove a confirmed non-cancerous growth from his stomach, according to his family’s account.

    The first procedure was carried out on September 4, and clinicians initially told the family the surgery had gone according to plan. Within days, however, Brice’s condition declined sharply: he began experiencing persistent vomiting and crippling abdominal pain, prompting clinicians to order a CT scan that revealed severe internal damage. He was rushed into emergency second surgery on September 7, where family members say they were informed his intestines had already begun to die.

    For days after the second procedure, Brice’s relatives told reporters they were given no clear explanation for what triggered the tissue damage, despite multiple scheduled meetings with the care team. It was only after Malaya Curry, Brice’s aunt, pressed the lead surgeon for a full explanation that the clinician admitted his team had accidentally nicked a key vein during the initial September 4 operation. “He said, ‘I am sorry. I made a mistake,’” Curry recalled in an interview, adding that the hidden error robbed the family of the chance to seek alternative care outside of PMH. “If they had told me the truth and been honest with me, I could’ve probably saved his life or do more to get more help.”

    According to Curry’s account, following the discovery of the damaged vein, clinicians left Brice’s abdomen open for roughly three days while they attempted to repair the injury by grafting a healthy vein harvested from his thigh to the abdominal region. A third procedure was later performed to restore blood flow and function to the dying intestines, but the intervention was ultimately unsuccessful. Clinicians eventually informed the family that no further curative treatment could be provided, and care shifted entirely to palliative measures to keep Brice comfortable as his condition worsens.

    Today, Brice remains alert but unable to speak, as intubation tubes inserted through his mouth are required to manage bowel waste that can no longer pass through his digestive system normally. His family says watching his rapid physical decline has been an agonizing experience, with daily visits to the intensive care unit leaving them heartbroken. “It hurt to my core in my heart to see my nephew in the hospital,” Curry said. “I got to go every day to see him suffering, dying a slow death because of the hands at PMH.”

    Brice’s niece, Marissa Rolle, says the family is now pushing for PMH to cover the cost of emergency overseas care, including a portable total parenteral nutrition (TPN) pump to deliver nutrients intravenously and a life-saving intestinal transplant that is not available at the Bahamian public hospital. The family submitted an official formal complaint to the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), which oversees PMH, this week and has retained legal counsel to pursue a negligence claim against the facility. Rolle noted that the family is far from the first to experience harm from preventable errors at PMH, saying “It’s too many families going into PMH and having to go through the same thing, negligence after negligence. So, we just want justice. We just want him to get the right treatment needed.”

    In an official statement provided to the Tribune, PHA acknowledged it has received the family’s concerns and confirmed the complaints are currently under active internal review. The authority noted that PMH’s clinical leadership has maintained consistent communication with Brice’s family throughout the review process, and that PHA “takes concerns regarding patient care seriously and remains committed to ensuring that all matters raised are appropriately reviewed in accordance with established clinical and administrative procedures.” PHA declined to share further details about Brice’s care, citing mandatory patient confidentiality rules and the ongoing status of the internal review.