The National Water Commission (NWC) has made yet another major push in its drive to improve water supply to its customers by recently completing the Westgate Pipeline Upgrading project in the parish of St. James. The agency spent over JA$ 40 million to lay approximately 1 kilometre of 500 millimetre (20 inches) pipes along the Westgate to Adelphi Main Road,...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has partnered with private-sector stakeholders to accelerate the procurement and administration of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination for Jamaica. This is being facilitated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC). Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher...

Jamaica is benefiting from a bonus grant under the ninth cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF). Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, told JIS News that Jamaica qualified for the bonus grant last year based on the speed of execution of projects, which was second only to Grenada. The...

A new state-of-the-art elevator was officially commissioned into service at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in downtown Kingston on Tuesday (February 16). The project was undertaken by the National Health Fund (NHF) as part of a $143-million initiative to instal eight elevators in hospitals across the South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA). With the installation, the hospital now has two...

The State Opening of Parliament for Fiscal Year 2021/22 will take place on Thursday, February 18 at Gordon House, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Patrick Allen, will deliver the Throne Speech, in which he will outline the Government’s priorities for the new fiscal year, which begins on April 1. The 2021/22 Estimates of Expenditure will...

Jamaicans are encouraged to become familiar with and to utilise a host of estate planning tools to improve the process of estate administration after death. In addition to making a will, persons can employ other strategies that will direct how assets are distributed. Deputy Administrator General at the Administrator General’s Department (AGD), Stacie Ann Carty, speaking at a JIS ‘Think...

A group of researchers is recommending the reclassification of the causes of pregnancy-related deaths, regardless of whether the complication was obstetric or medical. This is intended to help identify the human and other resources needed to end preventable maternal deaths, as women delay childbearing and present in pregnancy with pre-existing medical conditions, some undiagnosed. A study, entitled ‘New Maternal Mortality...