Minister Tufton Sounds Alarm on Caribbean Healthcare Crisis: Region Faces Critical Shortage of 600,000 Health Professionals by 2030

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has issued an urgent call for regional cooperation to address a looming healthcare workforce crisis that threatens to devastate health systems across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Speaking during the 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on September 29, Minister Tufton highlighted projections showing the region will face a shortage of 600,000 health professionals by 2030 if current trends continue.

“In the region, a critical pivot point to improve health services is filling the gaps that exist for healthcare workers. We have long had shortages of the registered and specialist nurses and midwives needed to manage service delivery, emergency response and heightened surveillance,” he said, while delivering Jamaica’s official address to the Council.

The Minister noted that the shortage will be concentrated in three critical professional categories: medicine, nursing, and midwifery, the backbone of any functioning healthcare system.

Highlighting the migration challenge, Dr. Tufton revealed that discussions at the recent CARICOM Health Ministers meeting showed a troubling pattern: while small island states are increasing training capacity to meet growing demand, they are simultaneously losing workers to migration as larger countries recruit Caribbean-trained healthcare professionals.

“We are constrained by shortages in educators, as our more experienced nurses are also being recruited by larger countries,” he indicated.

In response to this challenge, Minister Tufton announced that Jamaica is actively pursuing partnerships with countries facing similar challenges, emphasising south-south cooperation as a viable pathway forward.

“Jamaica believes that the deepening of south-south cooperation with sharing of resources, including technologies, provides new hope for meeting some of our hard-to-reach goals,” he told the Assembly.

Dr. Tufton called on PAHO to facilitate regional partnerships, stating: “Jamaica stands ready to support the advancement of the work undertaken by PAHO with respect to strengthening human resources for health. We need continued support in exploring new partnerships and expanding on existing ones.”

The Minister specifically requested that PAHO examine opportunities within the subregions of the Americas to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships that can help address the workforce crisis before it reaches critical levels.

The theme of the 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which concluded on October 3, was ‘Human Resources for Health’.

The Health Ministers attending represented countries of the Americas and have come together for this hemispheric discussion on a range of health issues.