Scholarships for Young Persons to Pursue Degrees in Health-Related Fields
By: , August 30, 2024
Photo: Michael Sloley
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (sixth left), and Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (eighth left), with some of the more than 500 recipients who received the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship, at a ceremony held today (August 30), at the AC Mariott Hotel, in New Kingston.
Photo: Michael Sloley
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), and Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (third right), interact with some of the more than 500 recipients who received the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship at a ceremony held today (August 30), at the AC Mariott Hotel in New Kingston.The Full Story
The Government has awarded more than 500 scholarships to young persons from across the island, to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in a health-related field, with some getting up to $1 million.
Under the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship Award, persons have been selected to study medical technology, human resources for health, medical social work, epidemiology, medical physics, health records management, hospital/healthcare management, information systems for health, pharmacy, dentistry, health economics, as well as nursing and medicine.
Delivering the keynote address at the awards ceremony, held today (August 30), at the AC Mariott Hotel, in New Kingston, Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the role of health professionals is vital in driving the transformation of the society.
He argued that by managing the country’s resources wisely over the past eight years, the Government has been able to increase the health budget by 140 per cent.
“This significant increase has allowed us to fund capital investment in healthcare infrastructure, increase the staff complement across the sector, and expand the delivery of medication and healthcare services to the public,” Mr. Holness said.
He told his audience that currently, four hospitals are being built and restored, and they are designed to meet international standards, adding that they will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
The Prime Minister said the improvements and expansions will address long-standing problems such as bed shortages at hospitals and ensure that more Jamaicans can receive timely and effective care when they use them.
He emphasised that growth of the economy depends largely on a healthy workforce, and that “this investment is about improving our productivity”.
The scholarship programme is a $2.5 billion, five-year initiative to enable students to have their public health studies financed by the Government.
The late Dr. Barry Wint was a former Chief Medical Officer (CMO).