Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, says work is under way to develop the first public tender process that will facilitate bids from manufacturers to supply countries with coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. Speaking during PAHO’s COVID-19 digital briefing on Wednesday (November 25), Dr. Barbosa said the process is being spearheaded by PAHO and UNICEF, which...

A National Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine Coordinating Committee is to be established shortly, says Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton. He said the committee will “involve members of different stakeholder groups to begin to put in place plans for distributing the vaccine once it is available”. Dr. Tufton made the announcement while responding to questions regarding COVID...

Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., is appealing for citizens to take climate change more seriously and support the Government’s mitigation efforts. “Climate change is a challenge that requires a whole-of-society approach. Public, private and civil society actors must play a serious role to attain the future we want for our country –...

More than 3,000 Jamaicans will benefit from assistance to access birth certificates under a partnership between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Registrar General’s Department (RGD). The support falls under the Integrated Community Development Project – 11 (ICDP – 11), which is being implemented by JSIF through funding from the World Bank. Some 6,000 undocumented Jamaicans were able...

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, is reporting an increase in the arrests of praedial larcenists this year, stemming from new approaches implemented by the Government to tackle farm theft. “Since January [to October], we have had 69 arrests compared to 39 arrests for the same period last year. So there is almost a 100 per cent increase...

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has signed an implementing partnership agreement with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as part of local efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls. This has been done through the Bureau of Gender Affairs, under the European Union (EU)-funded Spotlight Initiative. The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year partnership between the...

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, says Jamaica must renew its commitment to ending domestic abuse as well as using violence as a way to discipline children. “It’s time we decide as a nation that we will stop beating our pickney. We must end all acts of violence and abuse in our homes, in our communities,...