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Effectively treating chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol can be a financial burden for many Jamaicans. The National Health Fund (NHF), through its Individual Benefits Programme and the Jamaica Drug for the Elderly Programme (JADEP), has proven to be a lifeline for many Jamaicans living with these conditions. It has resulted in substantial savings on prescription medications...

Since the abolition of hospital user fees in April 2008, there has been a steady increase in the use of public health care services, ranging from 17 to 32 per cent. Drawing attention to this, in his opening presentation in the 2010/2011 budget debate in the House of Representatives today (April 8), Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon....

Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Hon Pearnel Charles, has said that if registered nurses employed at public institutions do not resume normality by Thursday morning (April 8), the Ministry will take the matter of their sick-out to the Supreme Court. "We will wait and see what happens Thursday morning, before we decide whether to proceed to the Court...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer has signaled his Ministry's commitment to rural development with the official start of work on the renovation and expansion of the Lionel Town Hospital Training and Accommodation Facility in Clarendon. The facility will be used to provide training for Dialysis and Pharmacy Technicians who will be placed in health facilities across the Regional Health...

Prostate cancer is the fourth leading cause of death for Jamaican males and the mortality rate has been increasing, said Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester. The CMO, who was addressing a recent one-day conference at Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Rockefeller Research Laboratories in Manhattan, New York, to examine the impact of prostate cancer on Jamaican...

The customer service offered at the Black River Hospital, St. Elizabeth, has come in for high praise by visitors to the facility. The hospital's vision statement, to "provide the highest standard of health care, delivered by highly trained staff, which exceeds the expectation of customers, while maintaining a clean and safe environment', has made residents of the parish happy. "In...

World and Olympic Sprint Champion, Usain Bolt, has taken another step towards improving his community of Sherwood Content, Trelawny, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for refurbishing and maintaining the community's health centre. The MOU was signed Wednesday (March 31) with the Ministry of Health and the National People's Co-operative Bank of Jamaica Limited (NPCB), at the Development Bank...

The administration's efforts to phase out ozone depleting substances will continue this year with $7 million provided in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure. The Montreal Protocol for the Phasing out of Ozone Depleting Substances project, which commenced in March, 1997, is aimed at developing measures to address illegal trade of ozone depleting substances (ODS). In addition, it collates ODS consumption...

Groups most at risk for contracting HIV are being targeted under a programme funded by the United States Agency for International development (USAID), as outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House. The HIV Prevalence in Most-at-Risk Population Reduced programme, which lasts from October, 2009 to September, 2014, will this financial year receive $118.1 million. The overall...

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester, is encouraging parents to promote healthier lifestyles choices in the home, including proper diet and regular exercise. These healthy practices, she noted, will reduce the risk of obesity in children, which is a primary risk factor for developing diabetes and other chronic illnesses. "The prevalence of unhealthy eating...

The Government has allocated $136.1 million in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, for the maintenance and upgrading of health facilities across the island. Some $88 million will be spent on the Health Facilities Improvement Programme, which is an ongoing project for maintaining and upgrading the buildings and equipment of health care institutions. The provision will also facilitate works to be...

The Ministry of Health has set aside $4 million this year for a project, aimed at improving reproductive health practices among adolescent youth. This figure is earmarked for the Improved Health Status among Youth and Most Vulnerable Groups project, outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure tabled in the House of Representatives on March 25. The project, which was supported...