Antigua Breaking News

Category: Health

  • Coronavirus detected in the semen of COVID-19 patients

    Coronavirus detected in the semen of COVID-19 patients

    By Eleanor Frederick, MSc. MPH COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2, was declared a global pandemic in February 2020. COVID-19 is a respiratory tract infection that affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose and throat) or the lower respiratory tract (trachea and lungs). SARS-Cov-2 is transmitted from person-to-person by respiratory droplets from…

  • Here’s why this week is most important in Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 fight

    Here’s why this week is most important in Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 fight

    If there are no new COVID-19 cases this week, local authorities may be able to declare Antigua and Barbuda COVID-free, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has declared. “I say may, because sufficient time would have passed for [the two known individuals with COVID-19] to literally shred the virus,” Browne said Saturday on Pointe FM’s Browne &…

  • Caribbean has achieved COVID-19 containment, says researcher

    Caribbean has achieved COVID-19 containment, says researcher

    The coronavirus (COVID-19) has been contained in the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti, according to a leading researcher and academic. However, Dr. Clive Landis, pro-vice-chancellor for undergraduate studies and research, and professor of cardiovascular research at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus in Barbados, and the chairman of the UWI COVID-19 task…

  • Member of Cuban Medical Brigade dies in Dominica

    Member of Cuban Medical Brigade dies in Dominica

    Dominica’s Health Minister Dr. Irving McIntyre has confirmed the death of a member of the “Henry Reeve” Cuban Medical Brigade, which arrived on the island on March 29 to help in the fight against the COVID-19 disease. Dr. McIntyre announced, on Wednesday evening, at a COVID-19 press briefing that the 42-year-old male collapsed and died…

  • The Wuhan lab at the center of the US-China blame game

    The Wuhan lab at the center of the US-China blame game

    Questions surrounding the origins of the novel coronavirus have sparked a war of words between Washington and Beijing — and threatens to worsen already strained relations.In recent days, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have doubled down on the assertion that the virus originated from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of…

  • PAHO Director calls on each country to analyze trends of the pandemic before relaxing social distancing measures

    PAHO Director calls on each country to analyze trends of the pandemic before relaxing social distancing measures

    The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, asked countries to analyze specific trends in the COVID-19 pandemic according to their unique contexts, and warned that reducing social distancing measures “too soon could accelerate the spread of the virus and open the door for a dramatic upsurge or for spread to…

  • The impact of COVID-19 on individuals with sickle cell disease

    The impact of COVID-19 on individuals with sickle cell disease

    By Amy Vanessa Frederick Globally the numbers of confirmed cases and resulting deaths due to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19 are increasing daily.  In an article in the British Journal of Hematology (BJH), Hussain, F, et al. (BJH, 16734, April 2020) stated that “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also…

  • 15 children Hospitalized in NY with mystery illness possibly tied to COVID-19

    15 children Hospitalized in NY with mystery illness possibly tied to COVID-19

    Fifteen children, many of whom had the coronavirus, have recently been hospitalised in New York City with a mysterious syndrome that doctors do not yet fully understand but that has also been reported in several European countries, the New York Times reports. Health officials announced Monday night that many of the children, ages 2 to…

  • ‘It will never be safe,’ those arguing about COVID-19 told

    Prime Minister Gaston Browne has shared the following letter with residents, on both sides of the divide, about opening up the country. The author of the letter is unknown: Dear All, This is an important message for all ! For those who are arguing on both sides that we must open now or it is…

  • World leaders pledge billions for virus vaccine research

    World leaders pledge billions for virus vaccine research

    World leaders, organisations and banks on Monday pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for research to find a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease. The funds, pledged at a video-conference summit hosted by the European…

  • International agencies call for care of HIV patients during COVID-19

    International agencies call for care of HIV patients during COVID-19

    The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) call upon Caribbean countries to ensure that people living with HIV have reliable access to treatment, healthcare and human–rights based social support services, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular access to essential…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]. 

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]