The Government of Jamaica is strengthening the national framework to combat human trafficking. Development of a National Policy and Plan of Action on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) are underway through the National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP). Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Courtney Williams, who is chairman of NATFATIP, made the disclosure while addressing the...

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne, has reassured US partners of the Government’s commitment to the fight against human trafficking. “We have been training and sensitising first responders, including health workers, child protection workers, community advocates, law-enforcement officers, judges, port officers, and immigration officers to effectively recognise the signs that someone, especially a child,...

Healthcare workers in the west were feted at a Fun Day on Wednesday, July 13, held at Paradise Park by the River in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. The event was staged on National Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day, and formed part of the activities for ‘Healthcare Workers Appreciation Month’, being observed in July under the theme: ‘Honouring Commitment, Service and Sacrifice’. The month-long...

Jamaica’s unemployment rate fell to a new record low of six per cent in April 2022, to continue the downward trajectory occurring in recent months. This outturn, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s (STATIN) April Labour Force Survey, is 0.2 percentage point lower than the figure for January 2022. Director General, Carol Coy, said it also represents a three-percentage...

Preparation work on the $6 billion Morant Bay Urban Centre project in St. Thomas has now commenced and is expected to advance in the coming month. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, toured the site on Thursday (July 14) and observed demolition exercises at the old Goodyear Factory in the parish, where the centre is being constructed. “I'm very...

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) will observe its annual Transitional Living Week from July 18-22 under the theme: ‘Preparing now for a Better Tomorrow’. Director of Children and Family Programmes at the CPFSA, Warren Thompson, told JIS News that the objective of the week is to give youngsters in State care the opportunity to be exposed to...

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne, says he is encouraged by the comprehensive suite of programmes offered by the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in St. Catherine for the rehabilitation of wards. “A facility like this means a lot to the Ministry, to the Government. The juveniles who have found themselves on the wrong...