News Briefs

PAHO launches campaign on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

WASHINGTON (CMC):

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a campaign in Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at getting people to talk more comfortably and openly about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The campaign, in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Disease International, coincides with the month of September being used for several awareness programmes on the illness.

PAHO said stigma surrounding dementia in the region is still a major barrier to people accessing help, advice and support.

Dementia is a syndrome that affects memory, other cognitive abilities and behaviour that interfere significantly with a person’s ability to maintain their activities of daily living. Although age is the strongest known risk factor for dementia, it is not a normal part of ageing. Alzheimer´s disease is the most common form of dementia.

Despite rains, concerns over drought situation prevail

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

The Barbados-based Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPMN) yesterday said even as rainfall continues to increase across the region, there’s more concern over long-term drought that can continue to cause below normal levels of groundwater, large rivers and reservoirs.

In its September bulletin, the CDPMN said that even as the rainfall increased, there were pockets of concern, including in parts of Belize and Jamaica, where there was at least temporary relief for the most part, as the El Niño dissipated.

“Though there not many concerns over short-term drought that can impact agriculture, streams and ponds by the end of November, there is much more concern over long-term drought that can continue to cause below-normal levels of groundwater, large rivers and reservoirs. Long term drought is most likely to evolve in portions of the Guianas, the eastern Caribbean and Belize by the end of November,” the CDPMN warned.

It has been observed that in July, Jamaica’s situation ranged from severely dry in the south to slightly wet in the northwest.