#BTEditorial – Making the best of uncertain times

Barbadians are preparing to usher in a New Year, and unfortunately, it is not a period that provides any more certainty about the future of the country than on this date in 2020.

There are many among us, whose faith in the supremacy of God and faith in His guidance, exhibit a level of comfort about the future than those whose relationship with a higher power is less secure.

Of course, there is much that we as a country can, and should be thankful about. Barbados remains one of the most ideal places in the world to live, work and play.

According to the United Nations (UN) 2020 Human Development Report, our country had a Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2019 of 0.814. That ranking placed Barbados in the “very high human development category – positioning it at 58 out of 189 countries and territories”.

When compared to Antigua and Barbuda, and The Bahamas, which also have comparable HDI rankings, our life expectancy at birth of age 79.2 years is higher than both countries, and the expected years of schooling of 15.4 years, is also higher than both CARICOM neighbours.

But like most average measures of basic human development achievements, we should be warned that the HDI often masks a great deal of inequality in the distribution of development in a country.

There is an index, too, to which we must also pay attention – the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) which the UN introduced in 2010 in its Human Development Report.

The MPI identifies what the UN calls “the multiple overlapping deprivations suffered by people” in the categories of education, health and standard of living.

When the situation in Barbados is examined, an unfortunate situation is exposed. Regrettably, we seem not to be collecting sufficient and timely data on poverty in this country, as the UN bases its multidimensional poverty index on estimates from 2012. This is a situation that should not exist and given the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, one could easily suggest that the situation is presently far worse.

As the UN report assesses from the near ten-year-old data: “In Barbados, 2.5 per cent of the population (7,000 people) are multidimensionally poor, while an additional 0.5 per cent are classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty (1, 000 people). The breadth of multidimensional poverty is 34.2 per cent.”

This information, though highly dated is still quite relevant to our current circumstances. As the country enters 2022, it is still battling a pandemic that has foisted a great deal of hardship and distress on the middle and lower classes of our society.

Joblessness and under-employment still plague many households. And the mental stress on families trying to ensure the education of their children continues to be a major challenge.

The disclosure from the Ministry of Education that children will remain at home, thus delaying the phased return to face-to-face classes until the end of January, must be a blow to our students and their parents.

Added to the unpleasant mix to end the year, is the acknowledgement by Ministry of Health and Wellness officials that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed on the island.

Given the highly contagious nature of this variant, one can expect that there will be a widespread infection, as has occurred in most countries where it has been detected.

It is yet to be confirmed but some healthcare professionals are suggesting that this variant might be behind the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks.

As the positivity rate rises again to 18 per cent, our population will also have to address what impact the general election campaign will have on the current public health crisis.

The Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) has sought to steer away from the political drama, seeking not to weigh in on the decision to stage a national election during a pandemic that is surging.

What BAMP has done is to continue to hold the line with consistency in its messaging. Its latest public statement outlines how difficult a year it has been for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

“This disease has taken its toll on us as well as on the public, with whom we sympathize but to whom we must also appeal.”

The doctors warned: “The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 passes readily between individuals, causing hospitalisations and deaths, mainly among the unvaccinated and breakthrough infections in persons vaccinated more than six months ago.”

Reminding us that just under half of Barbados’ population remains unvaccinated, BAMP says we must ask ourselves whether the need for gathering is worth the risk to life and health.

There is no turning back when it comes to the general election and so it will be incumbent on those participating in the electoral process to exercise personal responsibility to ensure their health in this most unpredictable era in which we find ourselves.