Health Ministry Acquires 60 Vehicles For Vector Control Programme
By: , January 28, 2020The Key Point:
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (second right), is greeted by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (second left), at the handover ceremony for 50 new vector-control vehicles, at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St. Andrew on January 27. Observing (from left) are Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams; and Dengue Project Manager, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Everton Baker.
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Some of the newly acquired vector-control vehicles with mounted foggers that were officially presented to the National Vector Control Management Programme of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St. Andrew on January 27. The vehicles will be used to assist in further controlling mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue.
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (second right); and Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams, observe as vector-control worker, Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department, Troy Fletcher (foreground), performs an item describing the methods used to eradicate mosquitoes, during the handover of 50 new vector-control vehicles at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on January 27. To Dr. Tufton’s right is Medical Officer of Health, Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department, Dr. Kimberly Myers.
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (left), presents Director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Errol Greene, with the documents for some of the newly acquired vector-control vehicles with mounted foggers that were officially presented to the National Vector Control Management Programme of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St. Andrew, on January 27.The Facts
- Ten of the vehicles are already out in the field.
- Documents for the other 50 vehicles were handed over to the Directors of the four Regional Health Authorities, today (January 27), at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St. Andrew.
The Full Story
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has acquired an additional 60 vehicles for the National Vector Control Management Programme, at a cost of approximately $400 million, to assist in further controlling mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue.
Ten of the vehicles are already out in the field.
Documents for the other 50 vehicles were handed over to the Directors of the four Regional Health Authorities, today (January 27), at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St. Andrew.
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, who witnessed the handover, said the Government is making a deliberate and concerted effort to invest in areas such as health, security, education and infrastructure.
“We want the country to understand that the Government is being very responsible and very fair in spreading whatever additional resources we may have… . We are at this point because there was a period of 10 years of sacrifice to return the country to fiscal stability,” he noted.
He said that while the country is not entirely “over the hump”, progress is being made incrementally.
“I believe that this will be the decade where Jamaica finally rises out of its slumber, and this will be the decade of growth and well-being for our people,” the Prime Minister added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Holness said the acquisition of the vehicles will assist in reducing the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya.
“There are many vectors that carry and spread diseases, and this will certainly help,” he said.
For his part, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said the new fleet was acquired over the last three months, adding that the vehicles have been equipped with mounted foggers.
“The vehicle-mounted foggers are a lot more efficient; you can do a lot more communities and, by extension, you can cover a much wider area. I’m going to put all mature mosquitoes on notice – we are coming for you dead, not alive,” he said.
Dr. Tufton said the vehicles, coupled with 1,000 vector-control workers, will assist in further controlling the population of mosquitoes in the island.
He noted that the new fleet offers greater safety for workers, as they can operate the vehicles without being at the back, courtesy of the twin-cab feature.
Dr. Tufton emphasised that the vehicles are to be used solely for vector-management purposes.