4 EWN 27 April - 3 May 2023
euroweeklynews.com Image by the Balearic Islands Government
Decarbonising the sea THE Balearic Islands gov ernment plans to decar bonise the sea with elec tric boats and renewable energy. This was the main gist of the BlueWeek forum that took place for the first time in Palma last week, aimed at discussing the ‘blue economy’, innova tion in the maritime sec tor, maritime energies and decarbonisation. The event was inaugu rated by regional vice president and Energy Transition councillor Juan
Pedro Yllanes, who high lighted the Govern’s com mitment to renewable marine energy sources to diversify the region’s sup ply model and attain ener getic sovereignty. “The maritime sector can contribute to the tran sition towards more sus tainable and cleaner ener gy sources through marine renewable energy produc tion. This includes offshore wind, wave and tidal ener gy, among others,” de clared Sr Yllana. The Director General of
Energy and Climate Change, Pep Malagrava, said: “The electrification of ports and ships is a vital step in the process of de carbonisation of the Is lands. We are aware that the maritime transport sector, and also the air transport sector, are ma jor emitters of gases into the atmosphere, and therefore, any process that can be carried out us ing the necessary tools and resources to reduce these emissions is wel come.”
PROVERB OF THE WEEK
“Don’t put too many irons in the fire.” Meaning don’t try to do too many things at the same time, focus on one thing at a time. This proverb dates back to the mid-1500s and is derived from the trade of blacksmithing.
NEWS
Doctors and nurses
YEARLY EVENT: A stand by the Public Health Agency.
Vaccination drive THE Balearic Islands Health department has invested €3.2 million in the purchase of 20,000 Meningococcal B vaccines for this year and next. Nearly 10,000 babies will be eligible for the jab each year, with doses given at two, four and 12 months old. The vaccine, which will be gin to be administered in May, was included by the
Spanish authorities on the public vaccination calendar for all children in November 2022. Until then it was only of fered to those within certain highrisk categories, meaning families who did not qualify had to pay more than €300 for the three jabs. Meningococcal B disease is a lowfrequency but very se rious infection that can lead to meningitis or bloodstream infection, both of which can be deadly or leave serious af tereffects. In a related development this week, the Balearic Public Health Agency took part in World Immunization Week, a yearly event organised by the World Health Organisation.
Stand up and be counted SPAIN’S local and regional elec tions take place on May 28. In the Balearics, current sur veys point to a very open re sult, with the incumbent Francina Armengol (PSOE) hoping to renew her term for another four years at the head of the Govern in coalition with Unidas Podemos and Més per Mallorca, with the help of three other smaller forces. Biting at her heels is the Par tido Popular (PP), who would require at least the support of farright Vox and probably also of several regional parties to claim the autonomic presiden cy. The governing leftwing coalition is currently ahead in the polls by just one seat, so May 28 looks to be a nailbiting time for all those involved.
THE public health service in the Balearic Islands has been described as ‘deficient’. According to the latest study by the Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Healthcare (FADSP), the Balearics are in 10th place on the list of 17 Spanish regions with re gards to the overall qual ity of the health service. The Balearic Islands received a total score of 81 points, lower than the national average of 84 and a long way from the region with the high est score, namely Navar ra with 108 points. On the positive side, the Balearics have climbed one place with regards to last year’s study. However, the re search shows that the is lands’ Primary Care ser vices have the worst ratio of GPs per 1,000 in habitants in the country (0.46) and the second worst ratio of nurses at local health centres (0.54). In both categories its closest rival is Madrid, who have the worst ra tio of nurses per 1,000 inhabitants and the sec ond worst ratio of GPs. The figures improve drastically regarding spe cialised nursing and hos pital care, coming in fifth and ninth place respec tively for the number of professionals per inhabi tant.
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