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Director of the Early Stimulation Programme (ESP), Antonica Gunter Gayle has urged parents and guardians who identify development delays in their children, to seek help early. Failure to do early intervention could be a "very major setback", the Director told JIS News. She advised parents to look out for signs of development delays in their children, such as disabilities in...

The importance of breast-feeding for the nutritional development of babies is the major focus of activities planned by the Portland Health Department to celebrate 'Breast-feeding Week' in the parish.The activities, which began with a church service at the New Testament Church of God in Port Antonio on September 18, will be highlighted by a health fair to be held at...

The Audit Commission is on a drive to ensure that all government departments, ministries and executive agencies have their individual Audit Committees in place by April of next year. Chairman of the Audit Commission, Leighton McKnight told JIS News that based on the findings of an evaluation exercise carried out by the Commission since its inception in April of this...

Jamaica and the Republic of Sudan have established diplomatic relations at the Ambassadorial level. Foreign Affairs Ministers, K. D. Knight of Jamaica and Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail of the Republic of Sudan signed the relevant instrument yesterday (September 19), establishing diplomatic relations between both countries, at the office of the Permanent Representative of The Republic of Sudan to the United...

Cabinet has approved contracts to two European suppliers to continue work in the second phase of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ)/European Union (EU) Water Supply Project. This was disclosed by Information Minister, Senator Burchell Whiteman at the weekly post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House yesterday(September 19). Minister Whiteman said Gazzina Trading in Italy has been awarded a contract valued...

Some 20 farmers in the southeastern Clarendon communities of Portland Cottage, Mitchell Town, Moores, Rosewell, Bois Content, and Hayes Savannah are currently participating in a Sheep and Goat project, aimed at improving the quantity and quality of meat stock produced locally. Parish Manager of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) in Clarendon, Percival Shaw told JIS News that some 20...

Residents in some of the island's poorer communities beset with social infrastructure needs, received much needed assistance through some 185 community-based organisation projects, which were undertaken by the Social Development Commission (SDC) in the 2004/05 financial year. Director of Governance at the SDC, Richard Billings tells JIS News that while the ability to deliver almost 200 projects in tandem with...

The Government of Jamaica, through the Port Authority, has spent approximately $5 billion to strengthen maritime safety and security. This is in keeping with the international focus to thwart illegal and terrorist activities.Following the events of 9/11 when terrorists attacked the United States, very stringent measures were introduced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to get ports up to international...

In 1968, nearly a year before it commenced full operations at the Nain plant in St. Elizabeth, Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) donated a sum of $300,000 towards the development of a basic schools' teacher-training programme with the hope that in the long run, the training would benefit students attending institutions in the Essex Valley region of the parish. Over...

Residents of the corporate area are invited to attend the Jamaica Information Service's (JIS) annual Kingston Book Fair, which will be held at the agency's Half-Way-Tree Road head office from October 7 to 8. Patrons attending the fair will be able to purchase a range of publications on Jamaican heritage and culture inclusive of booklets, pamphlets, posters, photographs, audiocassettes, videocassettes...

Vegetable farmers across the island, who were severely impacted by Hurricane Ivan last September, could soon see increased yields, having been provided with drip irrigation systems under the Jamaica Business Recovery Programme. The programme, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), provides assistance for farmers in...

As the Rural Electrification Programme (REP) carries out its mandate to provide 100 per cent access to electricity island wide, the Programme has, since its incorporation in 1975, constructed more than 5,000 kilometres of pole lines and wired some 66,000 households. Chief Engineer of the REP, Samuel Marshall tells JIS News that in the 1970s only some 50 per cent...