Commentary

A teacher interacts with students in a classroom at Seaside Primary School in Hectors River, Portland.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | Climate crisis and education

While maintaining its policies to reduce the amount of Earth-heating gases Jamaica spews into the atmosphere, the Government should underpin these efforts by making climate change – and how to be…
Nicola Gowdie and Oliver Stewart sift through the debris of their home in Crane Road, St Elizabeth, which was destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Michael Abrahams | How hurricanes affect our health

Hurricane Melissa departed our shores three weeks ago. The death toll, at the time of writing this article, stands at 45, but this figure does not fully reflect the devastating effect the storm has…
This file photo shows a flock of Turkey Vultures (John Crows) at a section of the gully in Waterhouse.
December 9, 2025

Gordon Robinson | It’s cuckoo!

I’ve heard it said (and it’s true I’m sure) that, sometimes, we mus’ tek seruss t’ing mek joke. That must’ve been journalist Zahra Burton’s intent when, at one of Government’s post Melissa briefings,…
From left: Shericka Jackson, Marie-Josee Ta Lou, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Elaine Thompson-Herah compete in the 100m women’s finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | Dodgy Olympics women’s 100m plan

World Athletics’ decision to schedule the three rounds of the women’s 100 metres race for the opening day of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is a coup for marketers. For, as Sebastian Coe, the president…
This October 2025 photo shows a portion of Belmont Academy in Westmoreland destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Ruthlyn James | The neurodevelopmental cost of Jamaica’s climate future

Jamaica is not simply surviving hurricanes; we are quietly growing a population shaped by them. We speak about damage and repair funds but those are surface wounds. The deeper injury is neurological,…
This November 2020 shows a sitting of the Senate in Gordon House
December 9, 2025

Lloyd Barnett | Retaining and reforming the Senate

Since the adoption of universal adult suffrage and a representative system of government in 1944, Jamaica has always had two legislative chambers. In 1944, there were established the elected House of…
IIn this November 2025 photo, Joel Wynter, who is suffering from sickle-cell disease, is being tended to by his mother under a makeshift shelter after their house was damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Monika Asnani and Lesley King | Hurricane Melissa and sickle cell disease

Hurricane Melissa barrelled across Jamaica on October 28 leaving behind a trail of destruction unlike anything the island has ever experience, particularly in the southern and western regions of the…
Humanitarian aid sits on the tarmac at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Ainsley Brown | Crucial role of logistics in Jamaica’s disaster recovery

Hurricane Melissa has underscored a timeless principle. Logistics is not simply about moving goods; it’s about enabling continuity, restoring order, and saving lives. This truth has never been…
Gleaner editorial writes: ... urgent mission must be to get the shattered region functional again, and that [policymakers] must attend to people’s livelihoods by getting money into their pockets, preferably through necessary productive work.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | Restore people’s incomes

Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa tore through western Jamaica, shattering public infrastructure, destroying private property and upending people’s lives, policymakers are still counting the losses…