Residents across several St. Ann communities have begun receiving vital medical support from the United States-based charity group, Mission is Possible, which arrived on the island this week to assist with post-Hurricane Melissa recovery. The week-long relief mission, which began on December 3, is targeting people whose health conditions worsened during and after the storm as well as those who...

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has announced a temporary waiver of import permits for a wide range of medical and personal care items, a measure designed to accelerate hurricane relief operations and significantly reduce clearance times at the ports. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner of Customs, Dr. Velma Ricketts Walker, made the announcement during a recent virtual town hall...

The Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) will host an event on December 5 to assist healthcare workers to replace critical documents, at the Newell Health Centre, in St. Elizabeth. More than 600 healthcare workers in the SRHA (Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth) were impacted directly by the recent Category Five Hurricane Melissa, which damaged their properties, houses, vehicles, and “other...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has launched a Staff Welfare Initiative to assess the full impact of Hurricane Melissa on team members in the health sector and to support their recovery. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Errol Greene, said the initiative is intended to provide psychosocial support for staff members, even as the health system continues to recover and...

Health Promotion and Education Officer for Westmoreland, Gerald Miller, says residents across several affected communities are responding positively to the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ ongoing distribution of chlorine tablets to ensure access to safe drinking water. Speaking with JIS News, Mr. Miller said the team has been active across the parish since Hurricane Melissa, particularly in communities where households...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is moving forward with its three-phase plan for the recovery and rebuilding of the country’s health sector following the impact of Hurricane Melissa. Phase one, which is being executed over three months, is focused on relief and restoration of services. “It involves rapid assessment, repair and mobilisation of basic services, mass environmental health mitigation...

The National Health Fund (NHF) is providing vital medications to Jamaicans in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, with 148,061 prescriptions processed for the period November 1 to 20. The figure represents a 1.6 per cent increase over the 145,718-prescription count across Drug Serv facilities for the similar 20-day period in October. “It means that we are serving the patients,” said...