The World Bank is reporting that Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies have largely recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and the region “has regained some sense of normalcy”. “Employment levels have almost fully recovered… schools have reopened and, with exceptions in the Caribbean, the high rate of vaccination against COVID-19 allowed for a return to normalcy,” the Bank indicated in...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Karl Samuda (centre), hands over two boxes of face masks to Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Hon. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (left), at the Ministry’s Marcus Garvey Drive facility in St. Andrew, recently. Looking on at right is Permanent Secretary in the Labour and Social Security Ministry, Colette Roberts Risden....

Residents of Ocho Rios in St. Ann will benefit from a free medical camp being organised by the High Commission of India in Jamaica, on Sunday, October 2. The camp is slated for the Ocho Rios Primary School, 47 Milford Road, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is being hosted in partnership with the Jamaica Council of Churches, Indian...

The National Nutrition Policy will improve access to nutritional meals and enable healthy eating habits and a physical activity lifestyle among Jamaica’s student population, says State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Hon. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn. “If we are able to have a stable and healthy population, then we must ensure that proper nutrition is established within our school...

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Assistant Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., was on Wednesday (September 28), elected as the entity’s new Director. He was elected by delegates of PAHO Member States participating in the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference, being held in the United States (US) capital, Washington, DC, from September 26 to 30. Dr. Barbosa, a Brazilian,...

Greater emphasis should be placed on prioritising and financing mental health within the region of the Americas. This was the message from Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, as he addressed the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference, in Washington DC, on Tuesday, September 27. The Minister said this would be timely “on the heels of the...

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is systematically expanding an adaptation of the Jamaica Moves campaign dubbed ‘Caribbean Moves’ across the region. The initiative seeks to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean by engaging with a wide cross section of public and private-sector organisations to promote and support preventive health behaviours. It was launched recently at...