Government Allocates $6.2M to Two Suppliers Participating in the ‘New Limb, New Life’ Initiative
By: , February 14, 2024
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, addresses a ceremony at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in St. Andrew on Tuesday (February 13) for the handover of cheques to two entities participating in the Government’s ‘New Limb, New Life’ Initiative.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (centre), presents a cheque valued over $5 million to Chief Executive Officer, Surgix Jamaica, Winfield Boham (second right), during a handover ceremony to suppliers under the Government’s ‘New Limb, New Life’ Initiative. The presentation was made at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in St. Andrew, on Tuesday (February 13). Others (from left0 are: Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn; Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., and Executive Director, Jamaica Council of Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Dr. Christine Hendricks.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (centre), presents a cheque valued over $400,000 to Founder of TUTU Prosthetics, Toto Campbell (second right), during a handover ceremony of cheques to two entities participating in the Government’s ‘New Limb, New Life’ Initiative, at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in St. Andrew on Tuesday (February 13). Others (from left) are: Minister of State in the Labour and Social Security, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn; Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., and Executive Director, Jamaica Council of Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Dr. Christine Hendricks.The Full Story
The Government has allocated funds totalling $6,261,400 to two suppliers participating in the ‘New Limb, New Life’ initiative, which is geared towards providing support for physically disabled Jamaicans requiring limbs.
Cheques in the sum were presented to Surgix Jamaica Limited and Tutu Prosthetics, which will provide prostheses for the first set of beneficiaries.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness contributed $5,941,400 of the provision.
The presentations were made during a handover ceremony at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in St. Andrew on Tuesday (February 13).
Speaking during the ceremony, Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said the promotion of healthy lifestyles is a pivotal component of the initiative
He pointed out that 80 per cent of amputations in Jamaica are linked to diabetes, noting that this highlights the urgent need for preventative care and rehabilitative interventions.
“Everyone who we restore, we hope that they become an ambassador for a very important cause [to encourage others not to] play around with your lifestyle,” he stated.
Dr. Tufton said the initiative is not only providing prosthetic devices, but facilitating the restoration of lost mobility and improving the quality of beneficiaries’ lives.
The Ministry has allocated $50 million for the programme that is administered through the Compassionate Fund Programme, from which resources are allocated to eligible amputees who have lost limbs due to diabetes, arterial disease, trauma, and cancer, with grants of up to $500,000 per person.
To date, the Ministry has approved 16 applications, and is processing another 44.
The New Limb, New Life Programme is a joint initiative with the Jamaica Council of Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), an agency of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., said the Ministry “will continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring that an environment is created for [the] empowerment of every Jamaican to know that they can overcome challenges that are associated with limb loss, and be reintegrated into our society.”