Training Opportunity. July 2016. Cultural Competency Resource Guide Spotlight Webinar Series: Asian American & Pacific Islanders in the Southeast

Are you interested in learning more about cultural competency and utilizing cultural competency resources to best fit your organizational needs? The Southeastern Health Equity Council (SHEC) released their Cultural Competency Resource Guide last fall 2015. This guide was comprised of resources, trainers, institutions and publications about cultural and linguistic competency that can be shared with the 10 Regional Health Equity Councils (RHECs), stakeholders and partners to help address cultural barriers with health care systems. Additionally, this guide includes important terms for members of the SHEC to become familiar with as the SHEC develops a common language around cultural competency. To view the resource guide, visit: http://region4.npa-rhec.org/in-the-spotlight/resourceguidewhitepaper. To follow-up with the release of the Cultural Competency Resource Guide, the SHEC will be hosting three webinars in various regions of the country. The webinars will include speakers from organizations which focus on cultural competency. Upon completion of this webinar, the participant will be able to accomplish the following from the specific organizational perspective: 1. Define cultural competency; 2. Describe the diversity within the Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community; 3. Explain the relationships among culture, language and health within the AAPI community; and 4. Identify cultural competency assessment and evaluation tools. The focus of the webinar will be the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. and it will cover immigrants and refugees, with a focus on the AAPI community in Georgia. DATE:  July 28, 2016 TIME: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time SPEAKERS: Moderators: Bettina Byrd‐Giles, Chief Executive Officer, The Bethesda Life Center, Inc. & Lynette M. Gibson, Associate Professor and Director of Research in Nursing, University of South Carolina Upstate Mary Black School of Nursing        Presenter: Victoria Huynh, Vice President of the Center for Pan Asian Community Services  Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS) is a private nonprofit social service agency with a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1980, CPACS is the still the largest and longest standing non-profit with 12 different departments serving the immigrant and refugee communities in Georgia and in the Southeast. Our mission is to promote self-sufficiency and equity for immigrants, refugees, and the underprivileged through comprehensive health and social services, capacity building, and advocacy   Register Here: https://explorepsa.adobeconnect.com/shecwebinarseriesii/event/event_info.html Sign up for SHEC’s Email Listserv: http://region4.npa-rhec.org/get-involved The Southeastern Health Equity Council (SHEC) is one of 10 regional health equity councils formed in 2011, as a part of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). The NPA is a national movement with the mission to improve the effectiveness of programs that target the elimination of health disparities through coordination of leaders, partners, and stakeholders that are committed to action. The SHEC is a coalition of leaders and health disparities experts representing several sectors and the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The SHEC envisions a region free of disparities in health and healthcare, where all people attain the highest level of health. Visit SHEC’s website for more information: http://region4.npa-rhec.org/ 1 If the registration link does not work, please copy the entire link and paste it into your web browser. For webinar‐specific questions, contact the moderator at csantos@explorepsa com

• Summary
• 2016 HBCU Program Agenda
• Hotel/Location Information
• Speakers
• Contact Us

2016 National HBCU Week Conference

The Annual National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Week Conference is planned under the leadership of the White House Initiative on HBCUs and with input from the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs and its conference sponsors. It provides a forum to exchange information and share innovations among and between institutions. Stakeholders, which include: federal agencies, private sector companies and philanthropic organizations provide an overview of successful engagements that if replicated could improve instruction, degree completion and the understanding of federal policies that shape and support higher education.

• When

• Monday, 10/24/16 - Tuesday, 10/25/16
  8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
  Eastern Time Zone

• Where

• Renaissance Arlington Captial View
  2800 South Potomac Avenue
  Arlington, Virginia 22202

http://www.cvent.com/events/2016-national-hbcu-week-conference-general/event-summary-54abe092d9f2476587bf5c4bdbca134b.aspx?i=209e6250-a36e-4f7a-8a94-0ad84eaf5b26

Easing drought on the Panama Canal

Easing drought on the Panama Canal


The expanded Panama Canal is reducing water use thanks to its new system of locks and basins, thereby lowering the risks posed by drought (Photo: Panama Canal Authority)
 

PANAMA CITY, Panama, June 28 2016— In the midst of one of the worst droughts to affect Central America in decades, the expanded Panama Canal is a model for how to adapt to climate change and reduce disaster risk...
Read more at: http://www.unisdr.org/archive/49408

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=49359

SOURCE(S):  FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS - HEADQUARTERS (FAO)

The Caribbean must prepare for increased drought due to climate change

Agriculture is the sector most vulnerable to the seasonal nature of drought.

With irrigation use becoming more widespread in the Caribbean, countries’ fresh-water supply will become increasingly important.

21st of June 2016, Barbados – Climate change is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of droughts in the Caribbean, so countries must enhance their capabilities to deal with this and other climate related challenges to ensure food security and hunger eradication, FAO said today.

The Caribbean faces significant challenges in terms of drought, a new FAO study says. The region already experiences drought-like events every year, often with low water availability impacting agriculture and water resources, and a significant number of bush fires.

The Caribbean also experiences intense dry seasons particularly in years with El Niño events. The impacts are usually offset by the next wet season, but wet seasons often end early and dry seasons last longer with the result that annual rainfall is less than expected.

The Caribbean accounts for seven of the world’s top 36 water-stressed countries, while Barbados is in the top ten. FAO defines countries like Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis as water-scarce with less than 1000 m3 freshwater resources per capita.

“Drought ranks as the single most common cause of severe food shortages in developing countries, so this is a key issue for Caribbean food security”, said Deep Ford, Regional Coordinator for FAO in the Caribbean.

The impacts of drought on agriculture and food security

With droughts becoming more seasonal in nature in the Caribbean, agriculture is the most likely sector to be impacted, with serious economic and social consequences.

This is particularly important since the majority of Caribbean Agriculture is rainfed. With irrigation use becoming more widespread in the Caribbean, countries’ fresh-water supply will become increasingly important.

Drought can affect the agriculture sector in several ways, by reducing crop yields and productivity, and causing premature death of livestock and poultry. Even a dry spell of 7-10 days can result in a reduction of yields, influencing the livelihoods of farmers.

Farmers, particularly small farmers, are vulnerable to drought as their livelihoods are threatened by low rainfall where crops are rainfed and by low water levels and increased production costs due to increased irrigation.

Livestock grazing areas change in nutritional value, as more low quality, drought tolerant species dominate during extensive droughts, causing the vulnerability of livestock to increase. The potential for livestock diseases also increases.

The poor are vulnerable as food price increases are often associated with drought. Expensive, desalinated water resources are becoming more important in the Caribbean, accounting for as much as 70% in Antigua and Barbuda, and this can impact the poor significantly.

Rural communities are vulnerable since potable water networks are less dense and therefore more heavily impacted during drought, while children are at highest risk from inadequate water supplies during drought.

Climate change poses new challenges

The most frequently occurring natural hazards in the Caribbean are climate related, and their impacts may increase due to climate change. The region's vulnerability to climate related hazards is manifested in loss of life and annual economic and financial losses that result from strong winds, flooding and drought.

Between 1970 and 2000, the Caribbean region suffered direct and indirect losses estimated between US$700 million and US$3.3 billion due to natural disasters associated with weather and climate events.

So far, the Caribbean has focused mainly on floods and storms, and so currently lacks effective governance, human resource capacity, and finance to deal effectively with drought issues.

It also has poor national coordination, policy-making, and planning in place. While many regional and national programmes have initiated responses to build resilience against the impacts of drought; too many of these are still in draft, poorly implemented, or in need of review.

However it was the severity of the 2009-2010 drought that sounded the alarm. The worst in over 40 years that led to significant water shortages across the region and resulted in agricultural and other losses from key economic sectors that affected many livelihoods.

The event forced the region to consider, particularly in light of climate change projections, a drier Caribbean by the end of the century as a disaster that has to be planned for and managed more strategically.

Regional frameworks provide a necessary first step

Three very relevant frameworks for drought management in the region are the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategic Framework, the CARICOM Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change: 2011-2021, and the Jagdeo Initiative. In addition, the Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPMN) was established in 2009, after the 2009 drought.

However, the most pressing need is for countries to develop strong national initiatives. According to the FAO report, currently policy-making and planning regarding drought is hindered by weak governance, lack of finance and poorly coordinated land management.

“However, these can be overcome by strong political will that encourages participation in policy and planning processes by all actors in the social strata, enabling the sustainable development of water supplies to face the upcoming challenges”, Ford said. 

CDC. Mosquito Control 2016

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Mosquito Control Awareness Week: Say Goodbye to Mosquitoes at Home This week is Mosquito Control Awareness Week! Now that it’s mosquito season, it is the perfect time to look in and around your home for ways to control mosquitoes that can carry viruses like Zika and West Nile. There are many options when it comes to mosquito control for your home. No single activity will effectively control mosquitoes, so you should combine both indoor and outdoor mosquito control activities to keep in and around your home free of mosquitoes. Learn More »

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