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The Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has reiterated that the Government welcomes and encourages private investment in the health sector, as it provides easier access to quality health care for the public. The Minister, who was speaking at the official opening of the Hargreaves Memorial Hospital, in Mandeville, on Thursday (August 27), said that delivering quality health care is...

Efforts to safeguard the welfare of indigents, and other persons in need of public assistance, have been boosted by the Government's implementation of the Social Protection Project. The initiative aims at enhancing Jamaica's social protection framework, by expanding the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH). Project Director for PATH, Dunstan Bryan, tells JIS News that since its introduction...

The Ministry of Energy and Mining is pursuing the productive utilisation of rehabilitated mined out bauxite lands for agricultural initiatives, State Minister, Hon. Laurence Broderick, has announced. This comes against the background of concerns resonating "over several decades" and heightened by the onset of the global economic recession, of the need to find solutions to improve the standard of living,...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has said that global occurrences, such as the spread of the Influenza A H1N1 and the current recession, are "threatening health gains and undermining future investments in health." The Minister was speaking on June 25 at the Ministry's first national performance review for 2009/2010, at the Hilton Kingston Hotel. The review is one of...

The issue of how well Jamaica will adapt to climate change is being vigorously pursued by the Government, its agencies, and partners, said Senior Director with responsibility for Environment in the Office of the Prime Minister, Leonie Barnaby. Speaking at a recent Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP) public lecture and panel discussion at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service Honourable Audley Shaw, on Thursday, May 28, 2009 called on the Caribbean Development Bank to play a leading role in securing the economic transformation of the Caribbean Region. Speaking at the 39th Annual Conference of the CDB in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Mr. Shaw said, "The global economic crisis does not only...

Group Managing Director of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, has called for more investment in renewable energy initiatives to address the effects of climate change. She pointed out that the use of conventional fuels, such as petroleum and coal, contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, which cause climate change and more focus must be placed on...

A five-man team is to be appointed to examine and make necessary adjustments to the National Energy Policy which was tabled as a Green Paper in Parliament, in 2006. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Marcia Forbes, made the disclosure while addressing a high-level stakeholders' discussion forum on the Policy at the Ministry on Tuesday (May 5)....

The National Development Plan for Jamaica (Vision 2030) and the Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework, were tabled by Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding today (May 5) in the House of Representatives. The development plan and framework set out a range of policy actions, which are designed to transform Jamaica into a developed state by the year 2030. Prime Minister...

Government has earmarked $20.9 million for institutional strengthening within the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. The initiative, implemented in January 2008, seeks to strengthen the PIOJ's capacity for long-term sustainable development planning and policy formulation, as well as, monitor Jamaica's positioning for developed country status by...

Ladies and Gentlemen, join me in creative imagination. Close your eyes and picture this:A backdrop of unfurling mountain ranges, towering peaks and lush vegetation - sixty thousand revelers sway in unison, to Jamaica's music, reggae music, enchanted by the warm, friendly atmosphere. The voice of Bob Marley fills the air with a haunting melody and the mass of people ingest...

It is said that the first wealth is health, and with the Government's plan to have the country achieve developed country status by 2030, the Ministry of Health and Environment (MOHE) is moving to ensure that all Jamaicans are healthy by then. As part of this thrust, the ministry has already embarked on a transformation and restructuring programme to ensure...