Disaster Response & Public Health: Barbados’ BDF and Fire Service rescue team received the Hero of Venezuela Medal after helping in earthquake-hit La Guaira, as a Barbados field medical hospital in Guarenas is expected to become operational early next week. Regional Health Resilience: CDEMA renewed its cooperation with CARPHA via a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen disaster management and public health preparedness across the Caribbean. Hospital Care & Dignity: Queen Elizabeth Hospital says it has spent hundreds of thousands storing unclaimed bodies and is preparing to lay 65 people to rest under new 2026 regulations that set timelines for relatives to collect remains. Mental Health & Youth Wellness: A teen mental health and cultural wellness workshop in Barbados used arts and conversation to help young people manage anxiety, identity stress, and family challenges. Food & Health Protection: A youth advocate is calling for tighter school rules on unhealthy food marketing, warning that junk food access is shaping children’s habits early. Cost of Living & Health Access: CARICOM leaders discussed measures to ease living costs, including fuel and freight relief and a regional cargo ferry plan—moves that can indirectly support healthier household budgets. Community Safety: Barbados is also stepping up action on illegal dumping, with health officials warning of prosecution and penalties.