In a meeting that took place 31 July 2018 in Mao, Valverde province, Minister of Agriculture Osmar Benitez, negotiated with the representatives of the Dominican Association of Banana Producers (ADOBANANO) and offered a 75% increase in the initial government offer to purchase hundreds of tons of surplus bananas from this summer’s harvest.
Benitez told reporters from the Diario Libre that the government was investing some RD$300 million in order to preserve the viability of this export crop and the 32,000 jobs it provides along the northwest part of the country. The bananas, originally destined for export, will be sold instead to the government at export prices.
The minister said that beginning next week the bananas will be distributed to such diverse places as army outposts, police stations, military bases, the Comedores Economicos, the Presidential Social Plan and public hospitals.
The Association of Banana Producers said that it will support the state in its efforts to alleviate the current glut of bananas in the marketplace, accepting the price offered by the government for some 120 containers each week over the next 18 weeks or so as a huge summer-fall harvest reaches its peak.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Aug 2, 2018
Relatively high maternal and infant mortality continues to be a disturbing statistic for the Dominican Republic, as the epidemiological bulletin number 27 from the Ministry of Public Health shows that so far this year, 94 women have died during pregnancy and labor. The figure at the same time last year was 96.
Looking at infant mortality, so far 1,713 infants have died, 80% before they were 28 days old, and last year the figure was 1,337.
The government insists that lowering both of these indicators is high priority, but government programs have not appeared to have had much influence in decreasing the number of deaths. Just this week there were six maternal deaths of women. The average age of the women who died during pregnancy, labor and postpartum was 29.
The highest rate of neonatal death is in the Enriquillo region where the rate increased by 175% compared with the same period last year.
The epidemiological report also reveals that so far this year there have been 575 cases of dengue, the highest rate in Hermanas Mirabal and Valverde provinces.
Malaria has had 180 confirmed cases, with half being in Santo Domingo East.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Aug 2, 2018
A depressed police sergeant in the Dominican Republic shot dead his ex-wife and mother of his two children Monday night, and then turned the gun and took his own life with a single blast.
According to witness who knew the former couple, Wilfredo Bienvenido Rodriguez, 34, contacted his former spouse, Yaniesi Mejia, 33, wondering if they could meet at her home in order to provide her with his child support payment.
The mild-mannered Dominican National Police sergeant flew into a rage outside the home during an argument, and then fired his gun multiple times before blasting Mejia with one shot in front of their two children. They had been separated for almost a year.
A family member led the two unharmed boys, ages three and five, to safety.
Rodriguez, who just like his wife was described by family members as a person with a humble upbringing, then turned the firearm and committed suicide with one shot to the head.
Mejia, who previously had been physically abused and threatened by her ex-husband, had withdrawn an order of protection placed on Rodriguez six months ago.
According to Rodriguez’s sister, the sergeant had been battling with depression as of late.
Her father begged her to leave the town of Pantoja, located in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo. She continued to decline her grieving father’s petition for help.
Sadly, the Dominican Republic has seen a rise in the deaths of women since 2005.
According to a recent report, 2,450 women have died as a result of domestic violence.
From January to June 2018, 38 women were killed by their partners in the Dominican Republic.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Aug 2, 2018
