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Acting Executive Director of the National Family Planning Board (NFPB), Dr. Sharlene Jarrett, says there has been a significant decline in the country’s fertility rate, due in part to the agency’s efforts to ensure that all Jamaicans have adequate access to family planning services. Citing the 2008 reproductive health survey conducted by the Board, Dr. Jarrett pointed out that in...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, is urging Jamaicans to adopt healthier lifestyle practices in order to achieve the national target of reducing deaths from diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25 per cent by 2025. Jamaica and other countries around the world agreed to the target at the annual meeting of health ministers at the World Health...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says that the Santa Cruz Health Centre is to benefit from extensive upgrading to transform the facility into a centre of excellence. Making the disclosure during a recent tour of the facility, the Minister informed that the project, estimated to cost $100 million, will be done in stages. Work on the initial phase,...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has committed to bringing the Tobacco Control Act to Parliament early in the next financial year. The legislation, which is in the drafting stages, seeks to protect citizens from the harmful effects of tobacco, including the banning of smoking in public and workplaces. “I am committed, as Minister, to bring by the first...

Child abuse, incest and trafficking of children, will be the topics for discussion at a public education forum slated for next Friday (November 23) at Emancipation Park, New Kingston. The event, scheduled to be held from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., is being organised by the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) in collaboration with charity organisation, Be Inspired International, under...

Health Minister Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, said that the administration has decided to make the prevention and control of cancers “a major focus of our attention” to reduce deaths associated with the disease. He said that cancers account for 20 per cent of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. NCDs are responsible for 56 per cent of...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says the role of nurses will be crucial as the Government seeks to transform health care delivery in Jamaica, to a more patient-centered system. As such, he said, “it is an important strategy to shore-up our human resource in the area of nursing and ensure that we have the skills necessary to serve...

Termed, the ‘silent killer’, Diabetes Mellitus,  is a chronic disease that is characterised by the presence of high levels of sugar in the blood and, if not managed properly, can be a life-threatening metabolic disorder, which can lead to blindness, loss of body parts, damage to the nerves, blood vessels/arteries, or even death. This usually occurs in cases where the...

Health Minister, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says the Government has committed some $50 million to upgrade and rehabilitate facilities at the Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth. “We intend to do some specific activities; already we have spent over $7 million on the pediatric ward. For phase two of that ward, the sum of $6.5 million will be spent to...

Health Minister, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says Cabinet has approved an additional $111 million to continue the Ministry’s dengue eradication programme across the island. Speaking to journalists in Black River, St. Elizabeth, on Friday (Nov. 9), following a tour of health institutions in the parish, Dr. Ferguson informed that Cabinet has taken a decision to approve the sum which will...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) wishes to advise the public that the stationary front currently affecting the island has produced heavy rains resulting in flooding within the parish of St. Mary. The areas affected include: -Port Maria -Oracabessa -Sections of Junction in the vicinity of Georgia Emergency response agencies have been alerted and are currently reporting...

A pioneering treatment for high blood sugar and high blood pressure, created by a team from the University of the West Indies (UWI), has won the Minister’s Innovation Awards for 2012. The entry, titled: ‘A Novel Treatment Against Hyperglycemia and Hypertension,’ was adjudged as likely to be the most significant in its effect on the scientific and technological world. It...