Social Impact with Emma » HIV/AIDS : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

HIV/AIDS in Jamaica: Are The Kids Alright?

June 18th, 2016

My last post was about health issues, and it seems there is much more to say. This time I would like to touch on the issue of sexual and reproductive health, in particular among our youth. I recently attended the annual Health for All forum, involving a number of non-governmental partners including Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, […]

Msgr. Albert, HIV/AIDS and the Need to Recommit

December 1st, 2015

At breakfast today in a Kingston hotel, a large group of Jamaicans stood for a minute’s silence in remembrance of Msgr. “Father” Albert, who had passed away quite suddenly just the evening before. His presence seemed to hover among us for a few minutes; he was a regular participant in World AIDS Day ceremonies. Last […]

Maggotty High: Promoting Health in School and Community

October 27th, 2015

“I’ve been here since six this morning,” one senior citizen told us with a cheerful smile, as he waited for a health check in the Ministry bus. The bus was parked next to Maggotty High School in St. Elizabeth, for a “Build Integrity” Community Health and Information Fair co-sponsored by National Integrity Action (NIA) and the […]

Homeless LGBT Youth Are Not “No One”

June 25th, 2015

Member of Parliament for South East St. Andrew Julian Robinson acknowledged, long ago, that he could not ignore the peculiar predicament of the “homeless gays,” as they are called, in a particular (comfortable, middle-class) part of his constituency. “This issue is not going away for me,” says Robinson, and as political representative he is duty bound […]

The “Forgotten Faces”: Children Isolated by HIV/AIDS

May 5th, 2015

People working in development agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) tend to assign acronyms to groups of people they are seeking to support. So, here is one for you: OVCs. OVCs are Orphans and Vulnerable Children, in case you did not know. Many children are vulnerable to a range of dangers these days. They need our […]

Reshaping Our Corner of the World: Love and Sandwiches

April 21st, 2015

It’s easy to dismiss something that you know little or nothing about as irrelevant. Now, I am guilty of this myself (and probably not for the first time). I am about to make amends. While talking to young (frighteningly young) entrepreneur and founder of EduFocal Gordon Swaby online not long ago, I poured cold water […]

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