GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT: APRIL 6 - 12, 2008

UNCLAS GRENADA 000057 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR EMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PLEASE PASS TO CDC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EFIN ECON SNAR SOCI GJ SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT: APRIL 6 - 12, 2008 ¶1. (U) Embassy Grenada's weekly activity report (GWAR) provides a little detail about events of interest that do not merit longer reporting at this time. ¶2. (U) Begin GWAR text: a. Grenada Makes Significant Economic Progress Grenada made significant economic progress in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country's economic growth was deemed very strong and rebounding and was "driven by buoyant tourism and strong construction". However, the five-member IMF delegation warned of tough times ahead. Catherine Pattillo, Deputy Division Chief for the Caribbean, added that growth is expected to slow at least in part because of the global economic slowdown. The team welcomed the introduction of measures to combat the rising cost of living, including the free milk and food basket programs and the temporary suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) on selected items. b. Chicken Pox Flares Up In Grenada Grenada's Health authorities have reported a more than 200 per cent jump in the number of chicken pox cases for the first three months of this year when compared to 2007. According to data collected from the country's general hospital and other public health care facilities, 23 cases were recorded for the first 14 weeks of this year, while just eight were reported for the same period last year. c. Grenada commended by CICAD Grenada was commended by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) for its participation in the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) and for its ongoing efforts to update the various mechanisms for drug control. Grenada has completed studies within the secondary schools to estimate the extent and trends in drug use. The country continues to struggle to combat drug trafficking and does not yet have regulations in place to prevent and control the illicit traffic of pharmaceutical products and other drugs via the Internet. MCISAAC