COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR KAREN D. TURNER TO

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000395

SIPDIS

AIDAC

SIPDIS
PASS TO LAC/CAR DAN RILEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC OTRA BB EAID
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR KAREN D. TURNER TO
TRAVEL TO BARBADOS


REF: KINGSTON 00429


1. Embassy Bridgetown grants country clearance for Ms.
Karen D. Turner, USAID/J-Cars Mission Director to
travel to Barbados on March 5-11, 2006. The purpose of
this visit is the Mission's Director's monthly visit to
Barbados to meet with CRP staff, US Ambassador and
Deputy Chief of Mission and other Embassy personnel;
donors and other international development partners to
discuss disaster risk reduction in the regional and
USAID partners.


2. Control officer is Sean Hall; Tel.(246)228-8070 or
Fax. (246) 228-8589.


3. Entry requirements: A valid U.S. passport is
required to enter Barbados and Dominica. No visa is
required if your stay is under six months, including
those travelers arriving with diplomatic or official
passports. For further information, travelers may
contact the Embassy of Barbados, 2144 Wyoming Avenue
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, telephone (202) 939-9200
and the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Dominica 3216
New Mexico Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016,
telephone (202) 364-6781.


4. Departure tax for Barbados is BDS25.00 or USD19.00.


5. The following is general information pertaining to
security and health considerations throughout the
Eastern Caribbean:

Security
--------------
In the Eastern Caribbean, foot travel outside of well-
established tourist areas is not generally recommended,
especially at night. Be vigilant when using public
telephones or ATM machines near roadsides or quiet
areas. As in many U.S. metropolitan areas, wearing
expensive jewelry, carrying expensive objects, or
carrying large amounts of cash should be avoided.
Visitors should also safeguard valuables while at the
beach. While hotels are generally safe, many visitors
have experienced loss of unattended items. Hotel
burglaries are not uncommon and all valuables should be
locked in room safes if possible.

Health Information
--------------
Throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the most likely
threat to a visitor's health is sunburn. It takes
several weeks to become accustomed to the heat and
humidity. Prolonged exposure to the sun, without
protection, causes sunburn and may ultimately result in
sun-damaged skin or even skin cancer. Sunscreens
should be used for protection. In Barbados, St. Lucia,
and St. Vincent the major health threat is dengue
fever, transmitted by mosquito. Dengue cases are most
often seen in the summer months. Persons should
therefore protect themselves with insect repellant.
There is also a growing number of HIV/AIDS cases
reported. The Eastern Caribbean enjoys clean and safe
drinking water. Only routine boosters for
immunizations (i.e. tetanus, diphtheria, and oral polio
vaccine) are required when traveling to this region.
Barbados has the best medical facilities of all the
islands in the region and most of the medical
specialties have practitioners here.

KRAMER