A public safety alert has been issued for two popular over-the-counter hair growth products, after regulators identified a critical packaging flaw that puts young children at risk of accidental poisoning. The two items affected by the voluntary recall announced last week are Tuymec’s Minoxidil Hair Growth Spray and TecFlox Hair and Beard Growth Serum. Both products contain the active ingredient minoxidil, a widely used topical treatment for pattern hair loss. Under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act, all products containing this ingredient are legally required to be packaged in child-resistant containers that are difficult for young children to open. Unfortunately, inspection confirmed that the recalled batches of these two serums failed to meet this mandatory safety standard. In total, approximately 6,200 units of the products are being pulled from distribution channels and retail shelves. The Consumer Safety Commission (CSPC) has issued clear guidance for consumers who may have purchased these affected items. Authorities are urging anyone who currently owns the recalled serums to immediately move the bottles to a location that is completely out of the sight and reach of young children, to eliminate any immediate risk of accidental exposure. The CSPC also notes that consumers are eligible to contact the product distributors to request free replacement containers that meet the required child-resistant safety standards. As of the announcement, no reports of accidental exposure, poisoning, or related injuries linked to these recalled products have been recorded by regulators. Public safety officials continue to encourage consumers to cross-check their personal hair care supplies against the recall list and follow safety guidance promptly to prevent any avoidable incidents.
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Antigua & Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra Hits a High Note with New Musical Equipment
Young emerging instrumentalists of the Antigua & Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra (ABYSO) are preparing to showcase their craft with a fully upgraded percussion section, after the Sandals Foundation’s Caribbean Artisan Programme contributed more than $35,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars in new instruments and supporting equipment to the ensemble.
As the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts, the foundation has built a long-running regional commitment to growing creative opportunities for young Caribbean people, and this donation marks another milestone in that work. Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, emphasized that investment in youth arts delivers far more than recreational benefits: “We are dedicated to nurturing Caribbean youth through the creative arts. Music acts both as a transformative tool for individual growth and a robust cultural sector that can generate sustainable livelihoods, boost national economies, and amplify the Caribbean’s unique cultural voice on the global stage. Today’s students are tomorrow’s composers, producers, educators and world-class performers who will carry our region’s heritage to audiences across the globe. By investing in initiatives like ABYSO, we help young artists refine their raw talent, build lasting confidence, and envision viable, long-term careers within the creative industries.”
ABYSO leadership notes that the orchestra’s long-term viability relies entirely on partnerships with mission-aligned corporate donors and community supporters. Beyond directly improving the training experience for current orchestra members, the new equipment will allow the organization to dramatically expand its community outreach work across both Antigua and its sister island Barbuda. With the additional percussion gear in hand, ABYSO will deepen its in-school programming, delivering introductory instrumental classes to students at Pigotts Primary, Potters Primary, and Holy Trinity School in Barbuda. The outreach initiative also creates a clear talent pipeline, giving promising beginning student musicians a clear pathway to advance into ABYSO’s junior and full youth orchestral programs. A dedicated teacher training component is also included in the partnership, designed to build the instructional capacity of local music educators and ensure orchestral music education can grow steadily and sustainably across both islands. Combined, these efforts are expected to widen access to structured music learning while cultivating a steady pipeline of skilled young Caribbean musicians for years to come.
For McKuelan Morris, ABYSO’s percussion coordinator, the donation could not have come at a better time. “The percussion instruments we received were not only timely but tremendously welcome additions to our section,” Morris explained. “As we work with our young musicians to develop their skills, the repertoire we tackle grows more complex. Having these high-quality instruments available now lets us add much-needed depth to our collective orchestral sound, while giving our percussionists the opportunity to learn multiple percussion instruments at the same time. We are incredibly grateful for this support.”
This contribution is just one part of the Sandals Foundation’s decades-long regional investment in youth music education across the Caribbean. In The Bahamas, the foundation has supported community initiatives including the Exuma Community Youth Band and the LN Coakley Music Programme, expanding access to structured learning for young musicians in Exuma. In Jamaica, the organization has backed the Skyliner Marching Band, partnered with Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College to deliver specialized brass education workshops, and invested in the island’s legendary Alpha School of Music. Across all these initiatives, the foundation’s core goal remains consistent: to nurture the next generation of Caribbean musical talent and preserve the region’s rich, diverse musical heritage for future audiences.
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OPINION: Accessibility + Consistency: Freeland’s Recipe for Effective Representation in St. George
For elected representatives, maintaining meaningful connection with the constituents they serve is far more than a box-ticking exercise — it is the foundation of legitimate, effective governance. In the Toronto riding of St. George, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has built a reputation for strong representation that centers on two core principles: steady accessibility to local residents and unwavering consistency in delivering on commitments.
Unlike many high-profile federal politicians who step away from local constituency work once they ascend to senior cabinet roles, Freeland has prioritized staying rooted in her home riding. She holds regular in-person town halls, hosts weekly mobile constituency clinics across St. George’s diverse neighborhoods, and maintains a rapid response protocol for constituent inquiries ranging from immigration paperwork delays to local infrastructure issues. For residents, this consistent accessibility means they do not have to go through layers of staff to reach their representative; they can expect direct engagement, whether at a local grocery store meet-and-greet or a scheduled meeting about a community concern.
This approach stands in contrast to a common pattern in Canadian politics, where national cabinet duties often push constituency work to the margins, leaving residents feeling disconnected from their elected member of Parliament. Freeland’s model demonstrates that senior cabinet roles do not have to come at the cost of local representation. By embedding accessibility and consistency into her daily work as both a national leader and a local MP, she has built trust across St. George’s diverse population, which includes students from the University of Toronto, long-time immigrant communities, young professionals, and long-term residents.
Critics may argue that Freeland’s high-profile national role means her local work is mostly performative, but on-the-ground feedback from constituents tells a different story. Local community leaders across partisan lines have acknowledged that she has followed through on commitments ranging from securing federal funding for local affordable housing projects to advocating for campus safety improvements and supporting small businesses recovering from pandemic shutdowns. These results stem directly from her consistent approach of showing up, listening, and following through.
The model Freeland has built in St. George offers a useful blueprint for elected officials at all levels of government. At a time when public trust in political institutions is declining across much of the Western world, simple, consistent practices — prioritizing access to constituents and keeping promises at the local level — can go a long way toward rebuilding that trust. For Freeland, the recipe has been clear: effective representation does not rely on flashy publicity stunts or occasional photo ops. It relies on showing up consistently, listening to the people you represent, and delivering on the commitments you make. In St. George, that recipe has proven to be a winning one for both Freeland and the community she serves.
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The King’s Foundation and ABCAS announce selected participants for UK Building Craft Programme
A landmark skills development initiative focused on heritage conservation and climate-resilient construction has officially kicked off in Antigua and Barbuda, with eight local participants selected to take part in the 2026 Building Craft Programme. The collaborative effort, led by The King’s Foundation—King Charles III’s charity dedicated to nature and sustainability—in partnership with the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (ABCAS) and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, marked its launch with an opening ceremony on April 8, 2026 at ABCAS’s Muriel O’Mard Campus. The event brought together key stakeholders from all partnering organizations, alongside the newly selected cohort of trainees, to kick off the innovative training initiative.
After a rigorous competitive application and screening process that included final interviews, the eight chosen participants—Kyla Weaver, Glennoy Goodwin, Shannoy Spencer, Jesse Gilpin, Devon Thomas, Johnathan Joseph, Edmund Map, and Akeem Javin James—represent a diverse cross-section of Antigua and Barbuda’s construction and design industry. The entire training opportunity is fully funded by The King’s Foundation and its partner donors, including The King Charles III Charitable Fund, Kestrel Liner Agencies Ltd, and the Mill Reef Fund, removing financial barriers for emerging and established industry professionals looking to advance their skills. Two experienced ABCAS staff members will accompany the group for the UK-based portion of the programme: Jace Gore, Head of the Department of Industrial Technology, and Garry Southwell, CVQ Implementation Officer, who will offer ongoing academic and technical guidance throughout the training period.
The cohort brings together a wide range of professional backgrounds, including practicing architects, civil engineers, skilled trade workers, one former ABCAS graduate, and one currently enrolled ABCAS student. This mix creates a dynamic group united by shared passion and commitment to advancing two critical priorities for Antigua and Barbuda: heritage preservation and climate-resilient building practices. Since the programme’s opening, participants have begun a week-long on-site orientation in Antigua, led by ABCAS with logistical and content support from The King’s Foundation. The orientation combines in-class foundational learning with hands-on field exposure to prepare trainees for the intensive training ahead. On April 12, the group will depart Antigua for the four-week UK-based portion of the programme, which will be hosted at The King’s Foundation dedicated training sites, starting at the charity’s headquarters at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, with additional training taking place at Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, England.
During their time in the UK, participants will gain immersive, hands-on experience in a range of high-value traditional building crafts and modern sustainable techniques. Key skill areas include precision carpentry, traditional masonry, lime-based building methods, heritage structure restoration, and contemporary climate-resilient construction practices. After completing the UK training segment, participants will return to Antigua and Barbuda to put their newly learned skills into practice during a local community-focused live construction project, allowing them to apply their knowledge directly to a real-world development need in their home country.
In remarks at the opening ceremony, Dr. Na-Ajele Buffonge, Vice President of ABCAS, emphasized the long-term value of cross-sector partnerships for skills development in the region. “At ABCAS, we remain committed to developing talent through meaningful partnerships,” Buffonge said. “This programme provides participants with internationally recognised skills while supporting sustainable and heritage-focused development in Antigua and Barbuda.” Dr. Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of Research, Impact and Learning at The King’s Foundation, echoed that enthusiasm, noting “We are delighted to welcome these talented individuals to The King’s Foundation training sites, including Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, England, to enhance their skills in heritage building crafts and climate-resilient construction.”
A follow-up cocktail reception for stakeholders and participants was held on April 9 at Galley Bay Resort and Spa, creating space for continued dialogue and relationship-building as the programme moves forward. Overall, the 2026 Building Craft Programme marks a major milestone for Antigua and Barbuda’s efforts to build national capacity in heritage conservation and sustainable construction, aligning directly with the country’s core national development priorities while empowering local professionals with globally competitive, industry-leading skills.
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CCJ receives first-ever national court referral, sets hearing for May 2026
Nearly two decades after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) formalized its role as the regional guardian of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), the institution has marked a historic milestone for Caribbean regional integration. On April 7, 2026, justices of the CCJ convened the first case management conference for a referral submitted by a national court across the entire Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a request that originated from Belize’s High Court.
The referral was formally filed with the CCJ on March 3 this year, stemming from the domestic legal dispute *G. Anwar Barrow and others v Financial Services Commission and the Attorney General of Belize*. According to an official statement released by the CCJ, the core legal questions being forwarded to the regional court center on two key issues: the proper interpretation of specific statutory clauses in Belize’s national Companies Act, and how those domestic provisions align and interact with existing bans on anti-competitive business activity outlined in the RTC.
Under the framework of the RTC, the CCJ holds compulsory, exclusive original jurisdiction over all disputes tied to the interpretation and application of the regional trade and integration treaty. When questions about the treaty’s rules emerge during proceedings in domestic courts or administrative tribunals across CARICOM member states, the treaty requires these national bodies to refer the interpretive question to the CCJ for a binding, definitive ruling. Once the CCJ issues its judgment on the question, the case is returned to the original referring body, which applies the court’s interpretation to the specific facts of the dispute before issuing its final ruling.
Prior to 2026, no domestic court across CARICOM had ever utilized this formal referral mechanism, a gap that prompted the CCJ to launch a targeted regional public education and outreach campaign. The initiative, which was funded by the European Development Fund, was designed to build familiarity and confidence with the referral process among judicial officers, practicing attorneys, and private sector stakeholders across the bloc.
The program launched its first training and sensitization workshops in Belize back in 2022, in partnership with the CCJ Academy for Law and Belize’s national judiciary. Over the following four years, the outreach effort expanded to include in-person and virtual sessions in seven additional CARICOM members: Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Alongside training for legal professionals, the CCJ also held parallel engagement sessions with regional business communities to clarify the rights and obligations set out in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the bloc’s flagship economic integration project.
During the April 7 case management conference, CCJ justices issued a full set of procedural directions to set a clear timeline and framework for the proceedings moving forward. Per the official release, the substantive hearing on the referred question has been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, and will be conducted entirely via video conference to allow all stakeholders to participate safely and conveniently.
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Venezuela police clash with protesters demanding salary rises
CARACAS, VENEZUELA – Thousands of Venezuelan demonstrators marching to the Miraflores Presidential Palace to demand urgent salary and pension hikes were dispersed with tear gas by riot police on Thursday, according to on-the-ground reporting from Agence France-Presse correspondents. The demonstration, the largest show of public dissent in the country since August 2024, marks a clear shift in the national mood: the pervasive climate of fear that gripped Venezuelan society during ousted former president Nicolas Maduro’s regime is steadily receding, allowing long-simmering frustrations over economic hardship to boil over into open protest.
As protesters advanced through downtown Caracas, crowds chanted “Yes, we can!” to amplify their demands for living wages, calling for increases to base pay that has remained stagnant since 2022 and left millions struggling to cover basic needs. When demonstrators drew within just a few blocks of the presidential compound, dozens of helmeted, shield-bearing riot police deployed tear gas to halt their advance. The resulting melee left one protester with a deep arm gash after being struck by a stray rock, AFP confirmed.
The confrontation lays bare mounting public anger at acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced hardline socialist Maduro following his capture by U.S. forces in a January 3 raid. Rodriguez, who was endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump to take power in exchange for granting Washington access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, has faced growing criticism for failing to address the country’s devastating cost-of-living crisis. On Wednesday, the interim leader appeared on national television to announce a scheduled wage increase would go into effect May 1, but offered no details on the size of the hike – a move that left many Venezuelans furious.
Venezuela’s current monthly minimum wage stands at just 130 bolivars, equal to roughly $0.27 USD. By comparison, the United Nations’ daily poverty threshold of $3 USD works out to a monthly minimum of $90, meaning Venezuela’s base wage is more than 330 times lower than the global poverty line. Unions and workers across the country have long decried the current pay as “starvation wages”, a label echoed by demonstrators on Thursday.
Jesus Godoy, a retired public servant with more than two decades of state service, showed AFP reporters two 100-bolivar notes in his pocket – totaling just 40 U.S. cents. “I don’t even have enough for a packet of flour,” he said, echoing a widespread sentiment of resentment toward the country’s ruling class. “Government officials drive around in huge SUVs with full time bodyguards, while ordinary Venezuelans are left to suffer.”
While some public sector workers can earn up to $150 USD per month when including government-issued bonuses, that sum is still a fraction of the $645 USD that independent economic estimates calculate a Venezuelan family needs to cover basic food costs alone, amid annual inflation that has surged past 600%. Protesters are clear in their demands: they want increases to the stagnant baseline salary, not just one-off adjustments to bonuses that have been raised repeatedly while base pay remains frozen.
“We are demanding a living wage now, because what Delcy Rodriguez said last night is a joke,” said 65-year-old retiree Mariela Diaz, summing up the crowd’s frustration.
Rodriguez has defended her approach, framing a gradual, “responsible” wage increase as necessary to avoid triggering a further spike in already sky-high inflation. Since taking office in January, the former vice president has rolled out a series of major economic reforms and issued an amnesty for political prisoners, moves made under pressure from Washington to roll back Maduro-era repression. But as Venezuelans continue to struggle to afford daily essentials like food and medicine, public patience is wearing thin.
On Thursday, as the protest unfolded in Caracas, Rodriguez was abroad in Grenada – a small Caribbean nation northeast of Venezuela – for her first international trip as head of state, according to broadcast footage from Venezuelan state television.
Thursday’s demonstration marks a turning point for dissent in Venezuela. For two years, following harsh successive crackdowns on opposition voices under Maduro, most Venezuelans avoided open protest. The 2024 August demonstrations, which erupted after Maduro’s disputed claim of victory in that year’s presidential election, were brutally put down by security forces. Thursday’s gathering of 2,000 demonstrators signals a growing willingness among Venezuelans to openly push for change, even after years of repression. -
Jamaican teen receives remote kidney transplant in US hospital first
For 12 years, Arianna Crockett navigated the challenges of chronic kidney disease, but a groundbreaking medical procedure at Florida’s Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has given the 18-year-old a new lease on life. In what marks a first for the pediatric hospital, Crockett — a U.S.-born teen raised in Jamaica who was battling end-stage (Stage 5) kidney failure — successfully received a kidney from a remotely located living donor this past Wednesday.
The path to transplant began long before the historic procedure. Crockett first received her kidney disease diagnosis at age 6. After growing up and attending school through ninth grade at Jamaica’s Victory Academy, she moved to South Florida three years ago to complete high school, as her health gradually declined. In January of this year, her kidneys completely failed, forcing her onto a rigid schedule of dialysis three times each week to stay alive.
Last year, her desperate search for a donor made headlines both in Jamaica and the U.S. Her mother, Tracy Evans, publicly pleaded for a compatible living donor to step forward, saying at the time, “We remain strong and trust God that there is a kidney for her.” That prayer was answered by Sara Goodall, a 40-year-old mother and the wife of Crockett’s cousin, who agreed to donate one of her kidneys despite living across the country from the teen.
On the morning of the transplant, surgeons removed Goodall’s kidney at her local hospital hundreds of miles from South Florida. The organ was then flown by air to Crockett’s South Florida location, where surgical teams at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital were waiting to implant it into the teen Wednesday evening. This cross-country remote donor process marks the first time such a procedure has ever been completed at the hospital, setting a new precedent for future pediatric transplant cases.
In interviews leading up to the surgery, both recipient and donor described the same mix of emotions, calling themselves “nervous-cited” — a blend of anxious nerves and excited anticipation. Just hours before her transplant, during her final dialysis session, Crockett reflected on how surreal the moment felt after years of waiting. “It’s very surreal, and nerve-wracking. So I’m nervous-cited, nervous and excited,” she told local outlet the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
For Goodall, the decision to donate came down to giving the teen the second chance she had worked so hard for. She shared that she has long admired Crockett’s persistent positive outlook on life despite her years of health struggles, and jumped at the chance to give her the opportunity to live a life free of constant dialysis. The successful procedure not only changes Crockett’s future, but also opens new doors for organ transplant access for patients waiting for life-saving matches across the country.
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Gager hails Trelawny students for excelling in sports and academics
TRELAWNY, Jamaica — During the regular monthly sitting of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) held Thursday, Falmouth Mayor and Councillor C Junior Gager delivered glowing praise to local secondary school students from the parish who have turned in extraordinary performances across academic competition and elite regional athletic competition in recent weeks.
Gager first turned his attention to the all-girls quiz team from Westwood High School, which made historic progress in one of Jamaica’s most prestigious annual academic competitions: Television Jamaica’s Schools’ Challenge Quiz. Team members including captain Tanay Johnson, Sheanelle Brown, Kadecia Fearon and Alison Francis fought their way through multiple rounds to reach the competition’s Grand Final, where they faced off against Jamaica College in a tight, high-stakes match. Ultimately, the Westwood squad fell just two points short of the top spot, finishing with a final score of 28 to Jamaica College’s 30.
“This is the first time Westwood High School has ever advanced to the Schools’ Challenge Quiz final, and their performance was nothing short of remarkable,” Gager shared during the meeting. “Even though they took second place, the entire Trelawny community is incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. They put our parish on the map nationally in academics, and that is a huge achievement worth celebrating.”
Shifting focus to athletic accomplishments, Gager next highlighted rising track star Shanoya Douglas, a sprinter from Holland High School who turned in a record-breaking performance at the 2024 Carifta Games hosted in St George’s, Grenada. Douglas clocked an impressive 22.11 seconds in the women’s Under-20 200m dash with a 1.9m/s tailwind, breaking the national junior record she had set previously. The win also marked her second consecutive Under-20 sprint double: she successfully defended her 100m crown to take home two gold medals from the regional competition.
“Shanoya Douglas represented Jamaica and our home parish of Trelawny excellently at this year’s Carifta Games, and she deserves every bit of recognition coming her way,” Gager said. He added that Douglas, who already received an award at the recent TMC and Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Heroes’ Day Civic and Awards Ceremony in Falmouth’s historic Water Square, will be honored again by the municipal corporation at a future date.
“We want to make sure we support her growth and celebrate her success, so she can continue to go from strength to strength in her career,” Gager explained. “Shanoya is without a doubt one of the most exciting young athletic talents to emerge from Trelawny in recent years, and we are rooting for her every step of the way.”
Gager closed his round of commendations by recognizing Sanjay Seymour, a sprinter from William Knibb Memorial High School who claimed the gold medal in the Boys Under-20 200m final at the Carifta Games, alongside other Trelawny-based athletes who competed at the event. “We are so proud of Sanjay and all the other athletes from William Knibb who represented us so well at the games,” he said. “We wish them all continued success in all their future athletic and academic endeavors.”
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St Thomas Eastern MP calls for NWA to address ‘ongoing flooding’ in Port Morant
In the coastal parish of St Thomas, Jamaica, a sharp public dispute has erupted over the persistent, destructive flooding plaguing the Port Morant community, with a sitting parliamentarian leveling heavy criticism at a senior official from the country’s National Works Agency (NWA).
Rosemarie Shaw, the Member of Parliament representing St Thomas Eastern, issued a formal statement Thursday calling out NWA Communications Manager Stephen Shaw for downplaying the ongoing crisis by framing it as an unavoidable outcome of natural rainfall. The MP pushed back hard against this framing, emphasizing that recurring flooding in Port Morant is not an unforeseen new problem—it is a long-documented, cyclical issue that successive administrations have failed to resolve.
“Flooding here is not a surprise. We have known about this problem for decades, and for years local residents have watched their homes, livelihoods and transport links get ruined over and over again,” Rosemarie Shaw said in her statement. “Blaming rain does not fix broken infrastructure. It just exposes that the system is stuck reacting to emergencies instead of proactively solving the root cause. Mr. Shaw’s job is to communicate with the public, but empty explanations can never take the place of taking real responsibility for fixing this crisis.”
The MP outlined the severe daily impacts the unaddressed flooding has inflicted on Port Morant: residential properties are inundated again and again, local businesses are forced to lose critical income amid repeated disruptions, and key road networks have become unsafe, often completely impassable during and after rain events. Most notably, she raised urgent alarm that recent infrastructure upgrades carried out in the parish have not alleviated flooding—they have actually made the problem worse, and this troubling claim requires immediate, independent review.
To move toward a resolution, Rosemarie Shaw has laid out three clear demands for the NWA. The agency must first publish a detailed, time-bound action plan to address the flooding. Second, it must open a transparent, public review of both existing drainage infrastructure and all recently completed works to identify what went wrong. Finally, the agency must deliver a permanent, long-lasting drainage solution that protects Port Morant and its surrounding neighboring communities.
For the MP, this fight is not just about fixing drainage—it is a matter of fundamental government accountability to voters. “The people of Port Morant do not just want regular updates on the problem. They want to know why, after decades of waiting, this issue still has not been fixed,” she added. “Until that question gets an answer in the form of concrete action, the status quo remains completely unacceptable.”
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NHF commissions solar project at main warehouse with US $1.3m support from Direct Relief
KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a landmark step toward boosting sustainability and operational resilience in Jamaica’s public health system, the National Health Fund (NHF) has formally launched a new grid-tied solar energy project at its central pharmaceutical warehouse located on Marcus Garvey Drive in downtown Kingston. Completed in February 2026, the project marked its official rollout at an inauguration ceremony held at the facility on Wednesday, April 8, drawing senior government officials, NHF leadership, and representatives from funding partner Direct Relief.
The 535-kilowatt photovoltaic system is built to cut the warehouse’s dependence on Jamaica’s national electricity grid and drive down long-term operational expenses for the public health agency. It incorporates 950 high-efficiency solar panels, paired with on-site battery storage and advanced power inverters to deliver consistent, stable energy output.
This initiative forms a core component of the NHF’s organization-wide energy conservation strategy, and directly aligns with the Jamaican government’s national targets to scale up renewable energy adoption across all public sector infrastructure. The approximately $1.3 million USD investment was made possible through a collaborative funding partnership with Direct Relief, a global international humanitarian donor organization focused on expanding access to critical health resources worldwide.
During the site tour following the inauguration ceremony, Richard Allen, NHF’s Director of Institutional Benefits, Projects and Maintenance, walked attendees through the system’s battery and inverter technology. In attendance at the event were Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, NHF Board Chairman Shane Dalling, NHF Chief Executive Officer Everton Anderson, NHF Board Member Dr. Kamal Mars, Speaker of the House of Representatives Juliet Holness, and Direct Relief Vice President of Program Operations Genevieve Bitter.
Delivering the keynote address at the ceremony, Minister Tufton framed the solar installation as a blueprint for the future of Jamaica’s health infrastructure. “It is almost expected that the NHF should now embrace the supporting infrastructure through technology, in this case the solarisation of this facility and others, as part of its growth and relevance,” he stated, noting that the smart, sustainable facility will set a new standard for public health sites across the country.
Speaker Holness, who shared reflections on her long-standing collaboration with Direct Relief, expressed gratitude for the organization’s consistent support of Jamaica’s health sector. “Thank you for all the support in the form of medication, training and inventory management and now this solar system,” she said. “It is just a wide variety and range of medical support that you have given over the years.”
Direct Relief’s Bitter emphasized that reliable energy access is not a discretionary benefit for pharmaceutical storage, but a non-negotiable requirement to protect public health. “This facility plays a central role in safeguarding essential medicines, vaccines and health commodities,” Bitter explained. “Reliable energy is not a luxury in pharmaceutical storage – it is a necessity.”
For NHF CEO Anderson, the project delivers far more than just cost savings—it builds critical climate resilience for Jamaica’s health supply chain, which faces growing risks from extreme weather events. “For 80 per cent of the year, we are likely to be off the grid,” Anderson noted. “With the frequency of hurricanes we’re having and other disasters, this is more than savings only. This is about resilience.”
He further clarified that the integrated battery storage system will ensure uninterrupted power for the warehouse’s temperature-controlled cold rooms, which store life-saving refrigerated medications that are vulnerable to power outages. The entire pharmaceutical division, which relies on the Marcus Garvey Drive facility for national inventory storage, will benefit from this enhanced reliability.
NHF Board Chairman Dalling framed the project as a strategic investment that aligns with both fiscal and national sustainability priorities. “This initiative future-proofs our operations in a world where energy costs are rising,” Dalling said. “By embracing renewable energy, we are contributing to a national effort to build a more sustainable and energy-aware society, while ensuring more of our resources can be directed towards supporting the health and well-being of the Jamaican people.”
This installation marks the second comprehensive solar energy system deployed by the NHF, following an earlier $6 million USD project at the agency’s Greater Portmore Pharmacy location. Jamaican renewable energy firm Sun Terra Energy Solutions carried out the installation work on the new warehouse system, which is projected to generate significant annual operational cost cuts while lowering the facility’s overall carbon footprint.