Latest update December 25th, 2024 1:10 AM
Latest News
- Guyanese losing millions from Govt. and Opposition’s failure to to manage oil sector
- ‘Guyana’s Stabroek Block success is like a Michelin Star Restaurant’ – Exxon official
- Gaza appeals for help as Israeli army attacks key hospitals
- Face the Press, Mr. President!
- State makes application to revoke Brutus’ bail
Guyana to share US$627,000 for Caribbean Tobacco Control Project
Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will be benefiting from approximately US$627,000 for the Caribbean Tobacco Control Project.
The Project is aimed at controlling and raising warning awareness of the effects of tobacco use in and around the Caribbean.
This information was revealed by the Guyana Caribbean Tobacco Control Project Officer and member of Guyana Chest Society, Eshwar Raghunath, at a Media Sensitisation Workshop on Tobacco Control.
The Workshop was intended to “arm the media with information as a vehicle aimed at exerting pressure on policy makers to implement stringent tobacco control interventions as implied by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.”
The Caribbean Tobacco Control Project is funded by the Bloomberg Global Initiative, which would be administered through the Heart Foundation of Jamaica. The funds will be spent specifically on the implementation of health warnings “as soon as possible,” said Raghunath.
Raghunath added that a portion of the funds will also be spent on necessary equipment that will be required to assist the project along its way. Picture based health warning systems (posters, etc.) will be part of the health warnings.
Media operatives at the Workshop held at the Herdmanston Lodge yesterday
A larger percentage of the money will however go toward a survey designed to test for the effectiveness of the images. All financial transactions are handled by the Project Office in Jamaica through the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, which manages the project regionally.
In each of the mentioned countries, four Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) will be working in close collaboration with their respective Ministries of Health. These NGOs are currently working toward similar efforts in their own countries. They include the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados and the Guyana Chest Society.
The recommended actions under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control were drafted to affect the supply and demand of tobacco products. However, since the Government of Guyana acceded to the Convention in 2005, implementation of the actions has been slow.
At the Workshop, it was noted that the media has throughout history been a powerful instrument in mobilising support on any given topic, collectively having a stronger voice in being heard by policy makers.
It was for this reason that the Guyana Chest Society (GCS) in collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), Ministry of Health (MOH), Guyana National Bureau of Statistics (GNBS) and Guyana Press Association (GPA) decided to host a workshop intended to sensitise the media on tobacco control.
The objectives of the workshop included; increasing media capacity to research and publish tobacco control features, update media on urgent tobacco control issues and provide an arena for the media to readily access tobacco control information.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals!
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Ah, Christmas—the season of goodwill, good cheer, and, let’s not forget, good riddance!... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
