Catch up on information you might have missed during the week.

This week's programme features:
•	Hand Hygiene Matters: A reminder to wash your hands properly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to help stop the spread of illness.

•	Transport Overhaul Ahead: Government to roll out a new mass transit framework with more electric buses and better PSV oversight.

This week In Case You Missed It Opportunities – (July 30 – August 5):

VACANCIES: 
•	Barbados Living Laboratory is seeking to fill the following roles: CEO, Senior Scientific Officer, and Administrative Assistant. Apply by August 15. 

•	Public teaching vacancies available in Music, Electronics and more! Details available 

TENDER OPPORTUNITIES: 
•	The Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy, is inviting tenders for the construction of a Boat Park at Consett Bay, St. John.  Visit https://gov-bb.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities for complete details.

GENERAL NOTICE: 
•	The Barbados National Standards Institute invites you to have a say on Engineering Standards! Review and comment on the draft CARICOM standard for engineering services by September 12.   

For more information, email: jonathan.platt@barbados.gov.bb, or call 426-3870.

To download a copy of these opportunities, go to https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/in-case-you-missed-it-july-30-august-5-2025/


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT JULY 30 – AUGUST 5 (2025)

- Gaza: Famine doesn’t happen overnight, says UN aid agency 
- In Sudan, children are ‘just skin and bones’: UNICEF  
- Geography shouldn’t define destiny, UN chief tells summit on landlocked nations  

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio Duration: 4'20"

UN News Today 05 August 2025 -Gaza Update, Hunger in Sudan, Summit on landlocked nations

Catch up on information you might have missed during the week.

This week's programme features:

1.	Follow WeGatherin on Instagram @wegatherinbarbados
2.	Insurance coverage for the hurricane season

This week In Case You Missed It Opportunities – (August 6 - 12):

-	Teaching vacancies (see attached)

To download a copy of these opportunities, go to https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/in-case-you-missed-it-august-6-12-2025/


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT AUGUST 6 - 12 (2025)

Dr. Aubery Stewart  Youth Leader's Address, 49th Regular CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting 2025

Dr. Carla Barnett  Opening Remarks at the 49th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting 2025

CARICOM Youth Ambassadors  Statement at the 49th Regular Heads of Government Meeting 2025

More than 30 landlocked developing countries – from Bolivia to Bhutan and Burkina Faso – face some of the world’s highest trading costs, deepest poverty and weakest investment flows.

Rebeca Grynspan, head of the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has told UN News that they are "invisible to much of the world", prisoners of outdated structural constraints.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, in Awaza, Turkmenistan, she explained to Nargiz Shekinskaya why digital trade, regional integration and long-term investment are critical to unlocking their potential.

Audio Credit: Nargiz Shekinskaya, UN News
Photo Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN trade and development chief calls for economic boost to aid landlocked countries

- In Gaza, hospitals are ‘at near-total collapse’ and staff are overwhelmed 
- DR Congo: UN Human Rights chief condemns surge in M23 violence 
- WHO issues new recommendations to counter widespread mistreatment of women giving birth

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio Duration: 3'55"

UN News Today 07 August 2025 - Gaza update, Violence in the DR Congo, and Maternal and newborn health recommendations

Some 1.3 million people displaced. 5.7 million people not getting enough food. How do you even begin to conceive of the magnitude of Haiti’s crisis, borne from years of political insecurity, gang violence and climate shocks? And how do you begin to feed the country? 

For Pierre Vauthier, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Haiti, hope lies in smaller, locally-driven solutions which empower communities to take control of their own food production.  

A school feeding programme, for example, which instead of financing imported food, uses funds to expand the capacities of local farmers, not only feeds children but also generates rural self-sufficiency. 

UN News’ Naima Sawaya spoke with Mr. Vauthier to learn more about FAO’s work in Haiti and why he remains hopeful for Haiti’s future.   

Feeding Haiti, a big problem that needs smaller, local solutions

In Sudan, as violent conflict between forces of the Sudanese military and their rival Rapid Support Forces militia rages for its third year, women are facing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis. 

Female-led households struggle to access food, girls and women face high risks of exploitation and abuse when trying to access humanitarian aid, and all the while, A accessible women-run organizations are vastly under-resourced. 

Salvator Nkurunziza, the UN Women representative in Sudan, sat down with UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki to discuss the struggles women face in Sudan and the solutions that should be implemented. 

Audio Credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News
Photo Credit: UN News

Female-led households bear the brunt on Sudan’s brutal frontlines

Lack of shelter, food insecurity and constant fear are compounding the crisis for people displaced from Zamzam camp in Sudan, while aid workers warn of rising disease risks and terrible living conditions.

“People lack the basics for a dignified survival shelter – a mat to sleep on, a blanket, a tarpaulin to keep the rain off…of course, risks of communicable diseases will be higher,” said Jocelyn Knight, Protection Officer for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. “Similarly for food insecurity, people are not safe to engage in agricultural activities the same way they did before the crisis," she added.

Many who have fled the ongoing war reported being threatened by armed groups and told they would be pursued and harmed no matter where they went. This intimidation has left its mark, even in displacement sites.

Children are particularly affected, with some too afraid to sleep in case they are attacked again. This persistent insecurity underpins the worsening health, nutrition and shelter needs now facing displaced families, Ms. Knight warned.

Children too afraid to sleep, fearing fresh attacks: UNHCR

The Barbados Government Information Service has been established since 1958 as the Barbados Government's public relations and information arm.   This dynamic channel profiles Barbadian people, places and programmes which make up this Caribbean island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.  We hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.  We want to hear from you.