Social Impact with Emma » Riverton City : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Health Care Reform: Promoting Wellness and a Healthy Environment

June 9th, 2016

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has been doing a good job so far at keeping the Jamaican public informed on the strange complexities of the Zika virus. My husband and I recently had a bout of it; the only good thing about it is that it doesn’t last long. His huge portfolio, however, extends well […]

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 […]

Something in the Air

June 30th, 2015

“I think it’s the air.” So said a friend, seeking to console me as I complained about my ongoing ill health (regular bouts of coughing, etc. – I will spare you the boring details). She got me thinking. I learned recently that air quality – air pollution – is now the world’s largest single environmental […]

World Water Day: Our Cities Are Thirsty

March 25th, 2015

Yesterday (March 22) was World Water Day. In years gone by, this might have seemed like just another of those “special days.” It might have been greeted with a shrug. Water? Why worry about water? Well, in 2015 I think we are taking water a lot more seriously. The Jamaican media love to call it “the […]

Corruption Kills

March 17th, 2015

Just as the sun set over the UTech campus this evening, the Chair of Transparency International (TI) José Carlos Ugaz made this dramatic assertion. The steadily growing audience (and it was a very decent-sized crowd, including many young people) sat up and took notice. The occasion was the University of Technology (UTech)/National Integrity Action (NIA) […]