GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT: FEBRUARY 15 - 21

UNCLAS GRENADA 000013 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI KWMN PNAT PGOV GJ SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT: FEBRUARY 15 - 21 ¶1. Embassy Grenada's weekly report (GWAR) provides a little detail about events of interest that do not merit longer reporting at this time. ¶2. Begin GWAR text: ¶A. Possible Invitation to Foreign Nurses Grenada's Ministry of Health is seriously considering inviting nurses from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Philippines to work in Grenada. The government has said it might consider Cuban nurses as well, but the question of English language competence, already a problem with some of the Cuban medical professionals here, may limit that option. The nurse-to-patient ratio in Grenada currently stands at two nurses for every 30 patients. The government would like to reduce the ratio to two to five. The Ministry wants to increase the nursing pool without inviting in unqualified practitioners, hence the plan to target invitations. There has been no discussion of improved salary rates or better working conditions. Grenada trains nurses but finds that many leave for greener pastures in Western Europe or North America. It is not clear that nurses from outside the region might not use Grenada as a stepping stone as well. ¶B. SGU Performs "The Vagina Monologues" For the third time, the Vagina Warriors at St. George's University performed "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler over a three night period last week. The group, a branch of Ensler's organization called V-Day, is made up of female students, staff, and faculty at the university. This year's performance raised nearly US$8,000. According to the Grenadian Voice newspaper, ninety percent of the proceeds will be donated to Grenada's the Cedars Home for Battered Women while the remaining ten percent will be sent to support women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC). ¶C. Mitchell Allegedly Snubs Grenada Opposition Leader Keith Mitchell was accused of snubbing Grenada by not releasing an Independence Day statement, a tradition all opposition leaders have followed since independence in 1974. The vitriol died down somewhat when it turned out that he had submitted a statement but none of the local weeklies had published it in their Independence Day editions. Only the Grenadian Voice has since published it, with an editorial note apologizing for not doing so on February 7 due to "a computer error". End text. MCISAAC