Ministry to Partner with Private Sector to Strengthen PATH

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be introducing a programme that will facilitate partnerships with the private sector to provide sustainable support to the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH).

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who made the disclosure, said the initiative forms part of the transformation and improvement of PATH.

“We are going to be launching a programme that will provide support for PATH, in terms of developing strong partnerships with the private sector to create a more inclusive and self-sustaining model and provide real contribution,” he said.

The Minister was addressing the Ministry’s townhall series, ‘On a PATH to Transformation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’, on March 13 at the Saint Gabriel’s Anglican Church Hall in May Pen, Clarendon, and online.

It was the second in a series of engagement sessions being hosted by the Ministry.

They are intended to facilitate the process to improve the structures, systems, and delivery of services under PATH.

Mr. Charles Jr. said more details of the programme will be revealed at a later date, adding that it is intended to establish partnerships with the aim of promoting sustainable and increased support to PATH beneficiaries.

“In terms of the new development, it is our intention that at the end of this process, we will have a sustainable and effective PATH. It is our intention that we will be able to develop partnerships. We are ensuring that we provide substantive support for vulnerable Jamaican families,” he said.

As at August 2023, there were approximately 285,000 beneficiaries or some 128,000 families enrolled in the programme.

Of this number, 65 per cent were children, 27 per cent the elderly, and eight per cent were pregnant and lactating women, indigent adults, and persons with disabilities.

The PATH programme has been providing support to vulnerable Jamaicans for more than 20 years.