The Ministry of Health is to spend some $1.32 billion under the Health Services Improvement Project to support enhanced service delivery in the public health system. This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives on April 14, by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. The targets for the fiscal...

The Ministry of Health is exploring possible pilot implementation of new mosquito eradication measures that will complement those already in place, to further restrict Zika Virus (Zik V) transmission in Jamaica. These include introduction of the Wolbachia bacteria and transgenic mosquitoes, which are capable of restricting the breeding patterns of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, and its ability to transmit Zik...

The Government will be taking steps, this year, to improve service delivery within the health sector. In noting its recognition of the challenges impacting the sector, Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, says the Government is committed to “working assiduously, during the first year of its administration, to tackle them.” He made the announcement while delivering the...

The Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) says the country is making strides in reducing cervical cancer through increased screenings and public education. In an interview with JIS News, Gynaecologist and member of the JCS board, Dr. Wendel Guthrie, said the prevalence of cervical cancer in Jamaica is fewer than 30 per 100,000 persons, while in other developing countries, the rate is 40...

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has lauded the St. John’s Heights Citizens’ Association Benevolent Society on its move to clean the community and safeguard the health of residents, through the launch of a landscaping business. “This is a demonstration of what community spirit should be all about and you are worth emulating,” he said at the launching...

Jamaicans are being encouraged to engage in greater physical activity to reduce their risk of developing lifestyle illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes. This call comes from Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton who said this is in keeping with the Government’s drive to lessen the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. “I’d like to tell...

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is encouraging persons to remain alert and prepared for what he describes as the inevitable onset of other new and re-emerging vector-borne diseases. His statement comes against the background of the Chikungunya and Zika virus outbreaks in Jamaica in 2014 and this year, as also the re-emergence of Dengue Fever during the period....