Four companies that produce sauces and spices are to receive food-safety certification this fiscal year as the Government works to increase the competitiveness of food-processing entities, particularly in the export markets. This will bring to six the number of firms in this industry to receive certification under the Economic Partnership Agreement II (EPA II) Capacity Building Project. The project aims...

The Government will be spending $647 million to carry out interventions in the 2018/19 fiscal year under its ‘HIV Prevalence in Most-at-Risk Population Reduced’ project. The funds have been provided in the Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives.  Anticipated targets for the fiscal year include: providing 1, 733 men who have sex with men (MSM) and 368...

The Ministry of Health’s programme to reduce new HIV infections among key populations has been boosted through a $758 million allocation for 2018/19. The provision has been made in the Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives.  The allocation, under the ‘Support to the National HIV/AIDS Response in Jamaica’ project, will enable the Ministry to develop...

The Government will continue to upgrade health facilities to reduce neonatal deaths with a $759-million allocation in the 2018/2019 Budget, now before the House of Representatives. Under the Programme for Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC), designs will be completed for 11 High Dependency Units (HDUs) at six hospitals, as well as procurement of equipment for the HDUs. Details...

Phase II of the Cornwall Regional Hospital Rehabilitation project, which includes significant work on the ventilation system, is expected to be completed in the 2018/19 fiscal year. This was disclosed by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, while delivering the 2018/19 Throne Speech in Parliament on February 15. Citing other programmes that will be undertaken by the...

Medical professionals and other health research personnel came together at the University of the West Indies (UWI) on Thursday (February 8) for the launch of the Regional Centre for Research Excellence. The Centre is a collaborative effort of the Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR); the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at the UWI; and Fox Chase Cancer Centre,...

The Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the Linstead Hospital in St. Catherine was officially reopened on Tuesday (February 6), following extensive renovation at a cost of $144.98 million. The work, undertaken through funding from the National Health Fund (NHF), included infrastructural upgrades, new furniture and equipment, installation of a new air-conditioning system, upgrading of the medical gas system, added...