 Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am General Norvell. This edition stops stories. National health insurance promises are more equitable society. The incoming chairman of the OECS authority highlights priority areas to take the sub-region forward and the Consumer Affairs Department aids a primary school in tackling plastic pollution. St. Lucia's economy is soon to realize enormous economic benefits with the implementation of national health insurance, including a more equitable society. We get details in this report. National health insurance, or NHI, is a system of health insurance that ensures a national population against the costs of health care. According to chief economists of research and policy in the Department of Finance, Janaye Léonce, St. Lucia sees relatively high out-of-pocket expenditures for health care. Each dollar that you spend out-of-pocket, that is, money that could have been spent on other economic activity, education, and what have you, and health care and pain for your health care has the potential to bankrupt many persons to the extent that they are not covered or they don't have health insurance covered. Only 18% of persons of working age have health insurance. Reasons for this include policy designs and perceptions towards insurance. Further design of the upcoming NHI system hopes to implement an affordable essential benefits package. One of the things the National Health Insurance Scheme is trying to do is to meet with the insurance providers and see to what extent we can design standardized products that can be at the price point that persons would be able to afford, but also design in a way that it may change the attitude and the perception with respect to insurance a bit. And to the extent that you could do that, a lot of the debilitating costs that persons need to incur should a health event happen to them, that would be spread given the fact that they have health insurance coverage. And those monies can be spent on education, childcare, and a whole host of other areas. Government also intends to undertake the costs of coverage for those unable to afford it. From the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Jacques Hingson Compton reporting. Incoming Chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States OECS Authority and Prime Minister of Grenada Dr. The Right Honourable Keith Mitchell has identified priority areas to take the subregion forward. The incoming chairman noting that the world is going through the most challenging of times, explained that vision during these times is a combination of discernment, a conviction about the most appropriate direction, and the courage of leadership. Dr. Mitchell highlighted areas of priority as the OECS 6 to weather the unexpected storm that is the COVID-19 pandemic. The five key priorities for this leg of our journey involve, one, accelerating regional integration. We must pick up the pace of this relay, and as we rung up this dangerous curve, we must recognize that our integration marathon is not simply about endurance, but also the speed. Two, reinventing the economy. Three, valuing our environment. Four, building resilience. And five, enabling equity and inclusion. The last four represent a matrix foundation, which must be constructed as essential to the regional integration project. Dr. Mitchell asserted that the role of the OECS Commission continues to be of paramount importance. It is close that he is proud of the work of the Commission and its undertakings in several areas including that of education and healthcare resource mobilization. Despite the many fallouts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the incoming Chairman remaining optimistic, reporting that many opportunities have been revealed. Infusing this approach will be cross-cutting themes that enrich the quality of our efforts. Entrepreneurship, gender equity, digital innovation, and the empowerment of youth are the inter-length strands which will make the process stronger and the results better. Sisters and brothers, in every situation of crisis, there are seeds of opportunity which, if properly ripped, can yield transformational harvest. This is such a time. The concurrent crisis that have afforded us have impacted the entire planet. They have also exposed many weaknesses of the global development model that require transformation. And we have the opportunity as small island development states to build to scale a greener, bluer, and more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable OECS. Incoming Chairman of the OECS Authority and Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. The Right Honourable Keith Mitchell was at the time addressing the 70th meeting of the OECS Authority held virtually on 18th June 2021. The Department of Agriculture continues to press down on the long-standing OECS animals along the main road network around the island, and is your Antoine tells us more. The Animal Act, established in 2005, provides for the prevention of cruelty to animals, the seizure and impounding of stray animals, the proper control of animals, and related matters. Agriculture Office at the Livestock and Veterinary Division, Timothy Norville, says that while the Department's efforts to control the stray livestock continue, public adherence to the legislation put in place by the Government of St. Lucia plays a major role in preventing an increase. He also made mention of the growing issue of stray animals in the community of Boisejou. The history of the donkeys is that many years ago when Montratt had the volcanic eruption, some donkeys were gifted to certain farmers in the north of the island. Over the years, those, the owners, the original owners for these animals have passed away, and those animals have been able to multiply. The major problem is that those animals are not in a fenced area per se. They are allowed to roam on from the beach under the wooded areas, and now they have moved into the residential areas. Not that they had not been in those places before, but over the last 20 years a lot of development has taken place in the Boisejou area. So a lot of those woodlands which would have been free-roaming for farmers to use have now become residential areas. And now you find that they're the problem because the donkeys which would have been free-roaming now enter into the property and residents disgruntled. Another major impediment according to Norville is the presence of stray dogs on the island. He explains that over the years, stray dogs have been one of the major causes of farmers losing their produce and livestock. A stray animal could pose a problem not only to itself but to people's properties, people's crops, etc. etc. But not because an animal is tied, and that's where we get a little bit of confusion. Some people believe because it's their property they can tie their animal anyway. If an animal is tied close to a footpath, close to a road, close to any access way which is used by pedestrians, it can be posed as a problem, and these animals too can be impounded. So for instance, if you have a cow and you tie it on your yard, in your yard, but you give it a 30 foot rope and it could stretch out and walk across the road, it could stretch out and be a hindrance to walking pedestrians or driving motorists and stuff like that, you have just breached the law and these animals can be impounded. Mr Norville encourages the public to keep their animals in a manner that does not endanger motorists or the general public. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Antoine reporting. St Lucia joined the global community in observing world elder abuse awareness day held annually on the 15th of June. Elder abuse according to the United Nations can be defined as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person. It is a global issue affecting the health and human rights of millions of older persons the world over and an issue that requires the urgent attention of the international community. District Medical Officer for Grozile Dr. Diane Ferdinand-Walkert during a sit-down interview provided insight into her experiences with elder abuse. She explained the situations and challenges that may result in elder abuse. Not every person has someone to take care of them, not all the elderly persons have people who are willing to care for them and so they have a challenge with meeting their basic needs. Some of them I speak to all of their children are overseas and so if they get into an accident or minor injury becomes a major thing when they are not able to seek medical assistance in a timely fashion. Another thing with neglect we can see or even emotional abuse even the children that take on the elderly parents sometimes you find that they limit their activities it's almost like they start treating the parents as as if they were children and I'm talking about people with their sound mind and people able to make decisions they may not be physically up to par what they used to be but their mental capacity is appropriate and they are legally able to make decisions whether it be financial or decisions concerning their friends their social interactions and to limit these persons to a locked room or saying your friends cannot call you or any of these any of these things that the the children or friends may do the caretaker may impose upon them would be detrimental to the patient's psychological and and emotional health. The United Nations this year is observing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day another theme access to justice. This theme serves as a reminder of the importance to fully address the needs of older persons who may seek recourse. The UN noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on reports of abuse and neglect of older persons particularly in long-term care institutions and the community. St. Lucia this year is commemorating the day another theme building strong support for the elderly. Dr. Ferdinand Walker highlighted a number of initiatives that can be undertaken to address the issue of elder abuse. I believe that as an official caretaker you have to be trained specifically with working with the elderly. The elderly they need to be listened to just as you would like to be listened to it doesn't mean that their voice is diminished it may be softer but it should be it's just as independent as when they were of their working years. I believe that that they need to be listened to they need to be appreciated they need to be shown the respect that they deserve and if it comes to the point where the caretaker feels that they are not able to manage it's fine it's okay everybody goes through it especially if you have an elderly person who's holding on to the independence and you're seeing that they're not able to make the decisions that they they need to make or you find another family member is maybe asking them for money or abusing them in that way you have to you may have to come in and speak with the person maybe seek help seek help from a medical professional or the law as the case may be. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 66127 in December 2011 following a request by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse who first established the commemoration in June 2006. It represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations. The Consumer Affairs Department donates reusable water bottles for its consumer education program at the Avamaria Girls Primary School to help tackle plastic pollution. Marvin St. Louis reports. Small yet all significant steps in the right direction in a year where international organizations are clamoring for action to tackle plastic pollution the Consumer Affairs Department did just that the highlight of the day consumer education and it was fun. So today we are here to educate the young ones because the Consumer Affairs Department which falls under the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for educating consumers to assist them in making informed purchasing decisions and we are here because we believe that we need to start with the young ones so that they can grow up and they can continue it could be a part of them their habits their practices and they too can also assist us as young ambassadors to share the wood to spread the wood. The consumption and improper disposal of single use plastics has become a global crisis. An estimated eight million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year and damaging marine ecosystems. The Consumer Affairs Department is promoting the circular model of waste management which includes reduce reuse and recycle. The student is happy to spread this message. I learned more about stopping pollution spreading the word to others and I learned reduce reuse and recycle free important words. The production and consumption of plastics has skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world battles this global crisis the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce is appealing to consumers to do all they can to save their environment. Remember the three hours reuse plastics reduce the use and also recycle there is currently a replace project and we like to encourage you to collect your plastics and drop them off at the strategic points so that these can be exported and recycled. From the Ministry of Commerce I'm Marvin St. Louis reporting. The Saafa-Lewis Community College through its agricultural program is contributing to national efforts get towards achieving food security. The College's farm strives to be the model example of advanced agricultural techniques via the use of precision farming. It provides students the opportunity to exercise agricultural practices and is open to free-form students working on their student-based assessments SBAs at a CXC level. Farmers seeking to improve their knowledge of farming measures are welcome to visit the farm. St. George James is the technical officer at the College's farm. For instance I know we were the first set of people I think that that grew with the hydroponic system that we grew our crops in flower pots in bags to control the salt bond disease water bond disease and to have a better production on farm. The technical officer says the farm contributes significantly to the country's food security and provides agricultural produce to hotels and supermarkets. If I may elaborate more it's not just the teaching service that we have we also have services where we help with food security we have our outlets where we sell our the what we produce on farm which is the eggs the pork all the crops so we sell in the supermarkets the hotels and also the public and we have a thriving market even at the college itself. The introduction of the agri-entrepreneurship and climate smart agriculture programs is an example of the College's continuous innovation with a view of improving the student experience. Dr. Keith Nurse is the principal of the South Lewis Community College. For the last academic year we switched around the agriculture program so it's now entitled agri-entrepreneurship and climate smart agriculture and in fact we have several programs both in relation to teaching and research and and also to new crop generation so for example with the Canadians we have something called SAGE skills to access the green economy and that's very much focused on generating some new practices in relation to climate change and climate smart agriculture. The South Lewis Community College farm is located in denry and runs several units including the crops and livestock unit open field production wind tunnels aquaculture and hydroponics this is ntn nightly up next primate hudginson with the ntn oil climate can change and that can affect us all. If the climate is worse, go to water and take water because all animals are full. When the sea is warmer, it can take place because the pressure is on the gravity. The same choice can also change the way the pressure is on the side and go to their side. This list can contribute in gas and in the space. When TPI, we can try to do everything we can to ensure that we lower the amount of gas we serve to prevent the earth from getting hotter. It is necessary to lower the amount of gas we serve is mitigation. Climate has changed and the most important thing is to keep all the water in the earth covered with oil and coal. Exactly any cause of the earth will get hotter. This is not to make trouble for us, it is to adapt. We do everything to prepare and respond to these negative consequences because of climate change. We all know how to do it. For example, we can ensure that we protect all that we plant. It is a natural chemical life that can cause damage in cyclones and goblins. Build a channel for people who need it. And follow the channel through the ears. Do all that you can to live a climate change. Find information about the full adaptation of the national government and even learn how to protect the cold and all the cyclones. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle in Cuyahola. Mr. General, Mr. Department of University of Sabilité, for information about the government in Cuyahola, this is GIS, also known as the National Television of the NTN, Capositeau Nouvelle in Cuyahola, Positeau, Primus Hutchinson. Minister Desserté, it is my pleasure to present to you a lot of government agencies who receive around 100,000 masks to serve their refugees. This is the Google company Triple L, Collins Lynch, who does the presentation here. Mr. Lynch said that we can try to find all these masks here because the demand is very high on the ground for masks. If I could point out that we have ordered 10,000 masks in CELCO and that's more than what I wanted to do. The engineers also planned to find these masks in Bonnet, Amada. Yes, I wanted to say that these masks are only 10,000 that I found. I found them in CELCO. So I wanted to leave Miami and live and order 10,000. Because the company does the presentation here. I only have 10,000 masks in CELCO by PSON. Mr. Triple L, thank you Minister Desserté for giving me the opportunity to collect these masks. I would like to thank Minister Benson Emile for visiting these masks, not only for Minister Desserté, but for all the institutions in CELCO, such as the police, the minister and the government. I would also like to thank Mr. Pépé here for the way he protects the public. Mr. Triple L, thank you Minister Desserté for giving me the opportunity to collect these masks. I would also like to thank the station, the firefighters and the court guards for giving me the opportunity to collect these masks. I would like to thank the General College for serving me and my parents and all of these people in this area. I would like to thank the government for the beautiful sacrifice committed to protect the animal rights and health of the animals, there is only one man who is still in power in this situation. Thank you Mr. Triple L. Thank you Mr. Pépé for giving me the opportunity to collect these masks. In addition to that, we also have the Division of Animal Affairs, which is a team of three new departments that have made an effort to try to control the number of animals that are associated with the public sector. It is the legislation that the government has established that plays a very important role in controlling these problems to increase them. We also have the Division of Animal Affairs, which is a common job. And it has been in place since then, in the Balkans, in the Montserrat country. We have options. Over the years that have passed, the families here have opened up to us. We have done a lot. In fact, it is not a lot, but over the years that have passed, we have done a lot of work, and we have done a lot of things to multiply. There is no impact, and it has caused a lot of problems for us to understand. We also have a lot of problems with the number of dog populations that have reached 100 meters and have caused a lot of problems for famous animals. And that these animals that have reached 100 meters are not only for the animals themselves, but also for the people of the world. We also have a lot of coffee and coffee to encourage the public. We also have a lot of animals that have reached a low level, so that they don't have to warm themselves up, and that the public is generally comfortable with them. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in New York, Ezekiel Joseph, declared that the people, and then the Prime Minister, I have a lot to do in account, and then the cultivators, and the farmers here. Minister Joseph Diki, he knows the farmers, I have a lot of discussions, and also the Prime Minister, as we have Alain Chastney, and I think that we have a lot for the agricultural industry. Mainly, especially the farmers. I think that the corona has caused a lot of problems. I think that the Prime Minister, because the Prime Minister, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in New York has a PR program, a promotion program, and an ugly thing to do. We have a brand thing to do, so there is a lot of adversity. The Prime Minister has a lot to do, but he has a lot of COVID-19, and he has a lot to do, but he has a lot to do. But I want to say that Cobra has developed, we have a lot of programs, we have a lot to develop, we have a lot to educate, we have a lot of benefits from the program, we have a lot to do, and I want to support you. Because we don't have a program like this, we have a lot to do that we have to have a lot of safety programs, and we have a lot to do. But the government has committed, the Prime Minister has committed to agriculture, specifically to agriculture, and we have a team in the Cabinet that has a lot of agricultural constituencies, and we have a lot to do, so we have a lot to do. So I want to say to the Minister, and the Ministry, that we have a lot to do. I would like to say that I have a lot of responsibility for agriculture and agriculture. Joseph, before we finish, I have a new information. Everyone who wants to be able to work with residents, and also those who want to work with residents, they have to work for this place, because they left this place, even if they can go to other countries that have a good control of the COVID-19, and they have to have their registration documents, and also their official test, which is negative, to be able to receive authorization to travel. The residents, and those who are not residents, they have to fill out their registration documents for at least seven days before they travel. Their official test is for seven days, and at least seven days before they travel, and they are attached to the application to be able to prove themselves in the laboratory. For more information, please visit www.saintlusha.org. Thank you very much for your time. I would like to thank Mr. Otter for his work. I would like to invite you to join us. I would like to invite you to join us. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you very much for your time. Mercier Pilgrimus, and that brings us to the end of NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am Janelle Norville.