The World Bank is urging more public investments in the Haitian health sector to improve the nation’s health quality. Haitian health The World Bank says the health sector in Haiti needs more public investments and better allocation of resources so as to improve access to health care for all Haitians.In a report titled “Better Spending, Better Care: A Look at Haiti’s Health Financing,” the financial institution notes that public spending on health care per capita is US$13 per year, which is below the average of US$15 in low-income countries.Spending is substantially lowerIt said that the spending is substantially lower than the average in neighboring countries, such as the Dominican Republic (US$180) and Cuba (US$781).In addition, there was a significant increase in funding from NGOs and the international community followed the earthquake, but this funding is falling significantly, calling into question the sustainability of investments in the sector.Curative rather than preventive healthcareThe World Bank notes that in the context of repeated emergencies faced by the country, more than half of total health expenditure goes toward curative rather than preventive health care.It said 38 per cent of total health expenditure is devoted to the hospital sector, owing primarily to the large number of hospitals, which is significantly higher than in countries such as Burundi and Tanzania.Under-equipped hospitalsThe Washington-based financial institution notes that the hospitals are often under-equipped to provide the level of care required, and the current level of expenditure has not led to increased service delivery. Costs for in-patient care are much higher than those in primary health centers. The nationwide ratio of clinics to inhabitants is 0.3 per 10,000, significantly below the standard set by Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population.“The decline in international assistance means that unless primary health care is prioritized with greater access to essential treatment for the people most in need, universal health coverage will not be possible,” said Eleonora Cavagnero, the health economist for Haiti at the World Bank and lead author of the report.The report noted that while life expectancy increased and infant and maternal mortality were halved between 1990 and 2015, Haiti remains vulnerable to many heath challenges including infant and maternal mortality rates that are four or five times higher than those of Latin America and the Caribbean. read more
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Caribbean Premier League (CPL) organizers and Cricket West Indies have settled on a stable window for the popular Twenty20 championship, which will see it continue to be played in August and September for the next five years.Same time period annuallyPrincipals of both organizations confirmed that the window for the tournament will run from August 21 to September 27.For the last two years, the CPL has been played during the same months and chief operating officer, Pete Russell, said the new development would ensure fans now associated the time period with the tournament.“We are very pleased to be playing our tournament in August and September for the third successive year and we have now agreed that this will be the time of year that CPL takes place for the next five seasons,” Russell said.“Fans now associate this time of year with Hero CPL and we have already started work on bringing the party to life in 2019. Having the best Caribbean cricketers and the world’s best overseas is what our tournament is all about, and this window gives us that.”The tournament ran from August 8 to September 16 last year, mirroring the August 4 to September 9 dates in 2017.However, the 2016 and 2015 tournaments bowled off in June while the 2014 edition and the inaugural competition got going in July.The difficulty for organizers was finding an international window where the best players would be available and CWI chief executive, Johnny Grave, said he was pleased this had been achieved.“The Hero CPL has developed into one of the best and most exciting T20 competitions in the world and we look forward to hosting another successful tournament later this year,” he said.“We are pleased that we have been able to find a window in our WINDIES International calendar to ensure that all the best Caribbean cricketers can take part, as the tournament plays a crucial role in our preparations and planning for the T20 World Cup in 2020.”Opening round in TTThis year’s opening round of matches will take place in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, with the playoffs also being staged in both nations.Trinbago Knight Riders, based in Port of Spain, are two-time reigning champions. read more
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, ,CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has chastised the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Almagro about his “unilateral” stance in accepting Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela.CARICOM sends letterIn a letter to the Almagro, CARICOM Chairman, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts Nevis, Dr. Timothy Harris said the CARICOM Heads of Government mandated him to express the regional body’s “disapproval and grave concern with regard to the position that you, in your capacity as Secretary General, have adopted, by recognizing the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido as interim president of (Venezuela). This action on your part, without the authority of the member states of the organization, is considered inappropriate.” The CARICOM chairman said the decision to send the sternly-worded January 31 letter was taken at an emergency regional Heads of Government held on January 24, that had been convened to discuss the unfolding political crisis in Venezuela.Departure from normal practice“The Heads of Government consider it imperative that you publicly clarify that you did not speak on behalf of all member states. We are aware this is not the only occasion on which you have made public utterances in the name of the (OAS) without authority. This type of unilateral action by a head of an international organization, whose membership comprises sovereign states, is a clear departure from normal practice and cause for great concern,” the CARICOM chairman said.Rowley critical of OASThe stance taken by CARICOM, follows a statement made by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, who last week, following a meeting with United Nation’s Secretary General Antonio Guterras, defended CARICOM’s decision not to seek the intervention of the OAS in the matter. Rowley blamed the OAS Secretary General Luis Leonardo Almagro of “taking on personally the presidency of Venezuela and had been advocating, virtually an overthrow of the Venezuelan government.“Trinidad and Tobago as a country under the rule of law and a long-standing member of the OAS and knowing the OAS Charter had objected to that because we always knew that if the situation worsened, or even before it worsened that the OAS was our first port of call to have this matter dealt with through dialogue and negotiations. “Now that this new parallel government was declared in Venezuela, once again without reference to us here as members of the OAS, the Secretary General went ahead and recognised the new interim president.“Those development had the effect of deeming the OAS unsuitable to be an honest broker in a situation where we believe dialogue and negotiation is what is required to bring stability to the Venezuelan situation,” Rowley told reporters.Guaido has challenged incumbent President Nicolas Maduro’s power, declaring himself interim president of Venezuela, according to the constitution. Maduro’s presidency was illegitimate, he said, because the elections were not legal and fraudulent. read more
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – President Jovenel Moise says 10 years after an earthquake devastated Haiti and forced the country into an unprecedented state of cooperation, the country is now offering “another image” to the world.Moise had joined Haitians and the international community on Sunday in observing the 10th anniversary of the earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 people and caused widespread damage in the country.Moise, who came to office in 2017, is facing pressure from the opposition political parties to step down from office over allegations of corruption and other charges. The opposition parties have been staging violent street demonstrations in support of their calls.Moise has denied the allegations and is moving towards forming a government of national unity despite the opposition boycotting the talks on the matter.But Moise said that the “great inter-Haitian solidarity where compatriots, with their bare hands, freed our brothers and sisters from the masses of reinforced concrete,’ has been replaced with anger and hatred.“We have seen people risking their lives to save the life of someone whose only voice they know is the trickle of voices filtering through the rubble. We have seen traders empty their stores to offer drinks and food to children on their own. We have seen women carrying men twice their weight on their backs, for miles and miles so that they can receive treatment.” read more
Nigeria will host the Indomitable Lions on September 1 in Uyo before immediately traveling to Cameroon for the September 4 second leg.Related Arsenal midfielder, Alex Iwobi will miss out of the Super Eagles all important 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier double header against Cameroon due to injury.According to the Super Eagles official twitter handle, CSKA Moscow forward, Aaron Samuel will now replace Iwobi as Uche Agbo also gets an invitation to join the Nigerian squad.
StumbleUpon BtoBet refines African SMS payment options with Tola Mobile August 20, 2020 Share Submit Share BtoBet grows Nigerian presence with Booster99 deal August 26, 2020 TVBET passes GLI test for five live games in Malta and Italy August 25, 2020 Related Articles Seeking to break new ground within the betting and igaming technology, industry platform provider BtoBet will present its ‘first mobile intelligent augmented reality’ functions at ICE 2017 (7-9 February to London ExCeL).Detailing the technology, BtoBet leadership states that augmented reality (AR) could revolutionise all aspects of betting/igaming’s value chain. As a data led industry platform and software provider BtoBet wants to gain first mover advantage in the fast-moving field of AR.BtoBet AR releases at ICE 2017, will focus on player marketing initiatives with the platform provider seeking to boost client player engagement and cross-channel data which will feedback to BtoBet’s Sportsbook & Casino Recommendation Engine.Sabrina Soldá, CMO of BtoBet commented on AR capabilities: “In the evolving iGaming industry players are showing an increasingly need of attention, enjoyable gaming/betting experience and interaction. With our high qualified team of technology development, we have studied a solution able to meet all these needs. Combining our A.I. technology platform – giving operators a full data players’ control and management, real time – with a totally new AR solution providing players the most advanced and exciting gaming experience”.The Malta-based firm will display the following three AR components at ICE 2017; ‘BtoBet Odds AR Comparison’, ‘AR Bonus Hunting’ and ‘Virtual Assistant’. To view full BtoBet AR technology details please click here. read more
StumbleUpon UK Racing pushes for drastic levy reforms as deep recession looms August 25, 2020 Submit Share Unibet backs #GoRacingGreen as lead racing charity July 28, 2020 Julie Harrington takes the reins as BHA CEO August 11, 2020 Share Related Articles The governance of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has stated that the snap UK General Election will not delay the introduction of UK racing’s central funding levy system.Last week Nick Rust Chief Executive of the BHA, confirmed that the Levy system had been approved by the European Commission, clearing a final hurdle for racing stakeholders.“With the final, outstanding approval now secured from the European Commission, it marks one of the last few steps in the process of securing a fair return from all betting on our sport,” commented Nick RustHaving been approved by the EC as a fair taxation practice, the new levy system will be forwarded to the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to sign into law.Once processed, the UK government will confirm to the betting industry the official date in which the levy becomes effective, with racing governance detailing that provisions will be passed by H1 2017.The central levy system will tax a 10% levy charge on UK racing gross profits from remote operator markets, which will be applied to all bookmakers that generate £500,000 in racing bets.UK racing stakeholders expect the ‘Levy 2017’ to generate approximately an extra £30-40 million for the sports funding. read more
Submit Revenues down 11% but product depth helps GVC through lockdown July 16, 2020 Share StumbleUpon Share Jason ScottLadbrokes Coral Plc has confirmed that Jason Scott will serve as its CEO of Ladbrokes Australia, following a ‘successful time in charge’ as the division’s interim leader.Last February, Scott was appointed interim CEO of Ladbrokes Australia, following the departure of Dean Shannon. Prior to the interim appointment, Scott had served as the division’s Trading Director.A key stakeholder in Ladbrokes Australia’s operations and initial set-up, Scott has held a number of leadership roles within the company since 2012, helping Ladbrokes establish its presence within competitive Australian online gambling market.Confirming the leadership appointment, Jim Mullen Ladbrokes Coral CEO detailed: “Jason has fitted seamlessly into the CEO role and Ladbrokes Australia has continued to show strong momentum and financial performance under his leadership. The appointment of Jason on a permanent basis is just reward for his commitment and hard work. He has the history of the business in his blood, he understands the Australian market and its regulatory agenda and has a clear vision for what he wants the business to achieve.Jason Scott commented on his appointment “Leading the Australian team has been a real privilege and I am delighted to be taking it forward on a permanent basis. The last six months have seen us continue to build and grow the business and the whole team is focused on further growth. We will stick to our principles of putting the customer first and being the best at offering them value and products that they love. It is the DNA of the business and there is no point in breaking a winning combination.” GVC ‘surprised’ at widening of HMRC’s Turkey investigation July 21, 2020 Related Articles GVC absorbs retail shocks as business recalibrates for critical H2 trading August 13, 2020 read more
Gambling.com, the providers of digital marketing services for the global iGaming industry, has announced a new duo of appointments.Taking its total of independent non-executive directors to three, the firm has brought Susan Ball and Pär Sundberg on board.Ball, an experienced senior executive and board member in the online gambling industry, has previously led the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Unibet Group plc (Now Kindred Group plc) on Nasdaq OMX First North as Chief Financial Officer.A qualified chartered accountant with Ernst & Young, and currently serving as a non-executive director of Kambi Group plc, Ball is to chair the audit committee at gambling.com.Alternatively Sundberg, who is to chair the remuneration committee, is currently executive chairman of the Brand New Content group, and chairman of Näslund & Jonsson Import AB (Snö of Sweden). Sundberg, who co-founded OTW, Sweden’s leading provider of content marketing services, previously served as its CEO from the 1996 inception until 2009, as well as serving a President and CEO of Metronome Film & Television. In addition, he has also served on the boards of AB Traction (2005-2014) and G5 Entertainment (2012-2017), both listed on Nasdaq OMX in Stockholm.In conjunction with these appointments, it has also been detailed that Gerard Hall and Kevin McCrystle have both stood down as directors, with Mark Blandford having been appointed to the new role of Chairman.Gambling.com Group Plc states that its board now consists of Blandford as Chairman, Charles Gillespie as an executive Director, and Fredrik Burvall, Ball and Sundberg as independent non-executive directors. Gambling.com maintains momentum against COVID-19 impacts August 19, 2020 Kambi takes full control of LeoVegas sportsbook portfolio August 26, 2020 Related Articles Gambling.com launches SlotSource.com July 30, 2020 StumbleUpon Submit Share Share read more
Submit Premier League looks to broadcast every behind-closed-door fixture August 28, 2020 Share Share Related Articles PokerStars moves to refresh global appeal with ‘I’M IN’ August 18, 2020 StumbleUpon EFL announces that all non-Sky Sports fixtures will be available to stream August 27, 2020 Sky Bet is the latest industry incumbent to back fan-focused, social media led content, after confirming that it has become the lead sponsor of ‘The Football Social’ and ‘Football Daily’ YouTube channels.Both YouTube channels are produced by Sky Media and serve as social media ‘companion shows’ supporting wider Sky Sports Premier League content and broadcasts.UK marketing news source The Drum reports that Sky Bet marketing has brokered a ‘seven-figure deal’ to become the sole sponsor of the shows, which last season generated a reported 19 million views across all social media platforms.Sky Media is set to broadcast 40 live episodes of The Football Social’, which will be made available on Soccer AM and Football Daily Facebook and YouTube channels during the 2019/2020 football season.Seeking to engage their brands with wider football audiences, UK bookmakers have backed a number of social media content deals, shifting their marketing strategies beyond traditional ad spend formats.Fan-led content on YouTube and across further social media platforms has become a key marketing battleground for bookmakers, with Ladbrokes Coral (GVC Holdings) partnering with content creator the Ball Street Network and Paddy Power announcing last week a partnership with Joe Media to produce its new ‘Liquid Football’ live football show.Jason Hughes, Head of Creative Solutions at Sky Media, said: “The goalposts for our football fans have moved with social media and TV both playing an important part in millennials’ lifestyles. Now people don’t just talk about football in the pub, they use social media to celebrate the highs and lows of the game with fellow fans as the action happens.” read more
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