 Welcome to Nation Beat, I am General Norville bringing you this brief on the pulse of our nation and highlights around the heart of St. Lucia. St. Lucia's Prime Minister scores a victory for small states as the IMF World Bank yielded calls for revision of how small states are classified for development funding. Diabetes training for nurses and doctors is spearheaded by the St. Lucia Diabetes Project. The primary school football championship kicks off and the collaborative approach to professional development in the tourism hospitality sector. A small states forum on Thursday, October 11 served as a major feature of the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank Group annual meetings taking place in Bali, Indonesia. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation and External Affairs, the Honourable Island Shastney is heading a delegation to the meetings. The official annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group will be preceded by a number of meetings with various country groupings including the Caribbean Caucus and a grouping of the 20 most vulnerable countries to global climate change. One of the main purposes of the V-20 grouping is to develop a new and improved approach to climate finance and to promote the mobilization of public and private climate finance. These measures are of immense importance to the government of St. Lucia, particularly given the focus on building resilience for St. Lucia as articulated by the Prime Minister in his 2018-2019 budget address. The IMF World Bank annual meetings are hosted by the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and IMF. Participants discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance along with other global issues. Meantime, small island developing states like St. Lucia will have an issue that leaders have lobbied for as a main agenda item. The World Bank and IMF will discuss the classification of countries for concessional funding based on the gross domestic product GDP. It is a practice that St. Lucia's Prime Minister had set out to change upon assuming chairmanship of the OECS Authority in June 2017. Lisa Joseph tells us more. Prime Minister the Honourable Allen M. Shastney has been advocating in regional and international fora for a change to the classification utilized for small island developing states SIDS. SIDS, like St. Lucia, have been classified as middle income countries. Speaking recently at the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister stated that the decision to classify SIDS based on their GDP has placed them in a disadvantageous situation. These countries, according to the Prime Minister, are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but because of their classification, have difficulty accessing concessional funding among other things. He called on the relevant authorities to take the requisite steps to undo the damage that has been done. Global policies and programs and strategies remain unfairly unaccommodating to these very real and true challenges. The world acknowledges our acronyms, but little or nothing else changes. St. Lucia remains economically vulnerable to the risking and the loss of correspondent banking relations. Remain out of the reach of any access to concessionary finance. Our reputations are unfairly tarnished by tax labels. We continue to struggle under the weight of international frameworks that do not provide an enabling environment for my country to chart an effective sustainable development path, or even to be able to take control of our own destiny. Madam President, despite the fact that the odds remain stacked against us, St. Lucia must still persist. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development explained that the subject was a topical one at the World Bank meeting in 2017. Philip Dowle so added that St. Lucia will be participating in the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, and the World Bank Group that is scheduled to take place from 12th to 14th October 2018. There, a paper addressing the matter will be presented. It's my understanding that a paper will be presented on looking at moving away from what we call the GDP per capita, which is using that as a basis for concessional funding. That paper will be presented to us for feedback, introducing other criteria. One of the criteria I know that would be used is vulnerability, since small island states are vulnerable. That paper will be presented at the IMF World Bank meetings this time around. The idea is to move away from GDP per capita as the basis for determining whether a country should qualify for concessional funding. St. Lucia's delegation consists of Prime Minister, the Hon. Alan M. Shasne, Minister for Economic Development, the Hon. Guy Joseph, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development, Philip Dowle so, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Cor. Thomas. From the Government Information Service, I am Lisa Joseph reporting. The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the United Nations. Their decisions on important questions such as those on peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary matters require a two-thirds majority. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority. Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Mortley, at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, brought to the fore the issue of climate change and its effect which continues to haunt countries within the Caribbean region. For us, it is about saving lives. For others, it is about saving profits. We have reached the stage where we ask the global community to recognise that what is at stake is simply not an academic debate, is simply not the profits of multinational corporations. But the evidence is clear and decisive that it is the lives and it is the living of our people. I ask us, how do we listen to speech after speech after speech? How many more must we listen to before we realise that the agreements that are necessary to fund climate change, the agreements that are necessary to cap us not at two degree change, because two degree change means a rise in sea level of one and a half to two metres for our islands. And for those islands like ours, where much of our economy is based on our course, then you begin to understand what it will be like by the end of the century for us. Matters pertaining to migration and security will become ever present in this world. Lending her voice to the debate on the use of a country's GDP to determine its eligibility for concessional funding, Prime Minister Motley had this to say. There are those who would ask that I speak also of the graduation of middle-income countries from access to finance. And that, ironically, affects our ability to be able to adapt our environments, our economies, our societies to confront climate change, to confront the vagaries of it. But when we make these arguments in fora after fora after fora, we are met with a stern face and a determination that our per capita income, as if that is a real factor in how people eat and how people move and how people sleep, that that per capita income should now preclude us from being able to access the very funding to protect our people from the worst ravages of the storms and the earthquakes from the fires. I ask this global community to pause, because as we learnt when we went to San Francisco two weeks ago for the Global Climate Summit on action on climate change, that time, time truly is running out upon us. We will make the decisions that we have to make on a national level. We have committed to ban single-use plastics and styrofoam from April of next year. We will ensure that we can try to become a fossil fuel-free country by 2030. But what does this mean against the background of a world that is not prepared to put the funding in place to be able to stop those worst aspects of climate change? The Barbados Prime Minister called on the world leaders to end the talkshops, considered a number of lives at risk, and take the necessary actions to ensure a greener and less fossil fuel-dependent future for all. St. Lucia continues to receive aid from a foreign-based organization focusing on diabetes management and treatment for the population. More in this report from Miguel Morissette. After 15 years of service in St. Lucia, the Ministry of Health and Wellness felt this year was necessary to highlight the support and positive impact the St. Lucia Diabetes Project has had on the lives of St. Lucia and by extension the health sector. St. Lucia Diabetes Project is a charitable organization from the UK which provides doctors and nurses with training and a wealth of knowledge to assist patients and individuals living with diabetes to better manage their condition. Mary Mathias is the founder and chairperson for the St. Lucia Diabetes Project. Coming here we are reiterating what probably they already know but at least adding some extras of what we do out in the UK. Because diabetes is something which is worldwide and you can never have too much knowledge about diabetes. Because things change, medicines change, thoughts change, research bring out new things, new thinking. And it's good to be able to impart these things to other people, to other health professionals. And of course to patients, by giving the health professionals what we know they in turn will pass it on to patients. Because diabetes is something that's now worldwide and it's a big epidemic. And of course little countries like St. Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean who are sort of haven't got the economic strength to fight this thing. And even the big countries who have the economic strength they have in problems as well. Because of what is happening, what we eat and the changes that is happening in the world and generally with our health. The program commenced on Monday October 8th and will run for two weeks. Health professionals from the north of the island is currently in attendance at the St. Lucia National Mental Wellness Centre. Whilst health professionals from the south will be engaged at the St. Jude's Hospital during the latter stages of the two weeks tinned. Meanwhile the trainer Jenny Bentley said this training will benefit St. Lucia on a whole. There's a lot of diabetic patients in St. Lucia. The diabetic clinics are extremely busy. And we're trying to enable patients to do as much for themselves as they can to keep themselves as well as possible. And particularly to keep well to avoid foot ulcers to prevent hospital admission. Bentley added that lifestyle changes plan integral role in preventing and controlling the disease. Healthy eating is a huge part of this. It's one of the main things that we're focusing in on this particular training. So not just what you eat but the portion control size as well. Things like how much exercise you get because if people as they get older obviously they aren't as mobile. But they do need to keep moving because inactivity is another risk factor with diabetes. Bentley went on to say how ecstatic she was knowing that St. Jude's Hospital has recorded a reduction in amputations. She applaud St. Lucia's for implementing the self-management strategies in their daily lives. From the communications unit in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Miguel Morris said reporting. This is Nation Beat. On the other side of the brick, the primary school football championship kicks off. Black Sega Toca is a fungal disease which affects the leaves of banana and plantain plants. It causes a reduction in the size of the bunch and the quality of the fruit. In commercial banana and plantain production, black Sega Toca disease is controlled with chemical as well as non-chemical measures. Chemical measures involve the application of spray oil and fungicides. However, it is neither practical nor safe to use agrochemicals to control black Sega Toca in backyard gardens. Non-chemical measures include good agronomic and cultural practices such as weed control and proper drainage. Affected parts of leaves should be pruned or cut off from the plant. Use a clean, sharp cutlass or knife. Infected leaves should be disposed of properly or added to a compost heap. For more information on how to treat and control black Sega Toca on your farm or in your backyard garden, contact the Black Sega Toca Management Unit at 451-5091-451-5894 or email bpmu at candw.lc. This message is brought to you by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the International Cooperation and Development Fund of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Welcome back. The widely anticipated primary school football championship kicks off on Friday with an official opening ceremony and two matches at the South Plain Field. More from Ryan O'Brien. The widely anticipated Inter-District Primary School Football Championship kicks off on Friday with an official opening ceremony and two matches at the South Plain Field. All eight districts will be competing in what has been termed as a very important competition for the continued development of the island's football talent. Isabel Alexander Markey is a school sports coordinator in the Department of Youth Development and Sports. The holistic development of our island's young athletes is one of our priorities as we seek to foster a spirit of cooperation among our student athletes. This tournament enables us to identify young talented student athletes for development and it is our responsibility to help give them unwavering support as they develop their skill. Therefore, we cannot overlook the invaluable support of our sponsors, national authorities in particular and other sponsors who contribute to this venture. As without them, it would be difficult to produce this tournament. President of the Saint Lucia Football Association, Lyndon Cooper, described the advent of the championship as an historic occasion and the beginning of a long-term partnership with stakeholders. This primary school football is not the brainchild of the SLFA, I think it's the brainchild of the Ministry of Sports and Education. I think what the SLFA did was to attempt to approach, in fact, what was to approach the two entities and the B teachers to spell out a new path that we want to engage them in. I must say for the second time, but for the first time, publicly, selling the concepts to the P coordinators was one of the easiest selling that I have done in the last 10 years. In Friday's opening fixtures, District 5 comes up against District 8 and District 3 will face District 2. From the Department of Youth Development and Sports, I'm Ryan O'Brien. The Department of Infrastructure, Ports and Energy is currently constructing a new road to link the George-Oddam Stadium to the Larissus Bridge. This new road is designed to improve road safety when turning into Larissus View Fort. It allows for the realignment of the currently constructed pull of the Caribbean Brace track and will provide a new link road to the soon-to-be-constructed Hironora International Airport terminal. Works on this road started in June 25, 2018 with the expectation of very minimal disruption in traffic flow. It was also expected that the newly constructed road would serve as the bypass road upon closure of a section of the existing road. However, it has been brought to the attention of the Department that at least three culvert crossings are to be constructed along this new road, making it unsuitable to be used as the bypass road. As a result, the Department of Infrastructure has informed that the Larissus Road between the George-Oddam Stadium and the Larissus Bridge will be closed from Monday, October 29, 2018. The Department has also announced a community meeting to be held on Wednesday, 17 October from 6pm at the Plainview Combined School in the community of Larissus View Fort. This meeting will serve as a forum to inform on the details of the road closure, the proposed detour to the East Coast Road and designed for the Permanent Diversion Road under construction. The contractor for the project is C.O. Williams Construction, St. Lucia Ltd. C.O. Williams is required to construct 1.6 km of road, which includes site clearance, general excavation, dual carriage reconstruction, construction of drainage systems and undertake utility transfer work. The work on the permanent diversion road is expected to be completed by December 16, 2018. The National Research and Development Foundation, NRDF, the Sa'afa Lewis Community College, the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association and the University of the West Indies Local Campus, on Thursday partnered with Sandals Resorts International for an Education and Professional Development Fair. Anissa Antwan has the details. The Sandals Co-operate University Education Open Day is an annual event. Shanielle Cohen is the Learning and Development Manager of Sandals Regency Lattoc. So this initiative really gets our team members engaged in a way that they know that life is way more than working, earning a buck. Life is more fun and engaging and exciting when you learn and you grow. We want our team members to self-actualize and we believe that once our team members believe in growth and development, then ultimately the company itself will achieve its ultimate goal and objective because these team members will now understand what it means to serve in the hospitality industry. The program was open to all team members across the resort who have an interest in developing or learning a new skill. So when our team members come in, they're asked to complete their compass. This now gives them an opportunity to train in other departments. So if a team member comes in as a steward and this team member finds that they have a passion to go into cooking to become a chef, then once they've completed their compass and we know that they're competent in their area, it will give them an opportunity to cross train and become a chef. This is actually one of our core beliefs that we should develop from within and hire from within and the corporate university and our structure gives the team members that opportunity to learn on the job and to grow on the job. A number of institutions including the University of the West Indies and the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association interfaced with the Sandals staff. Well, we were invited by Sandals to participate in a career showcase if you want to call it that for the staff and as usual, as the premier institution, we always like to take advantage of those opportunities to share with the public what we have to offer. We have a range of bachelor's degrees. We also have what we call our continued professional education courses for persons who may just want to do something to uplift their professional development. Because we are the voice of the tourism industry, we wanted to give their staff an idea of the different courses or programs or workshops that we offer. We have things for different professionals within the industry because our workshops span for professionals across the industry. The Sandals Co-operate University Education Open Day was hosted at the Sandals Region Sealer Talk on Thursday, October 11th. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. That's Nation Beat. Join us next time as we fill the pulse and heart of our community. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am General Novel.