Week of Activities to Recognise Contribution of Public Health Inspectors

The Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors (JAPHI) is staging a slate of activities to mark Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) Week under the theme ‘Strengthening Environmental Health: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic’.

The week, from October 24 to 30, will recognise the invaluable role of health inspectors to nation-building, said the JAPHI’s President-elect, Michael Myles, at a recent Think Tank at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) regional office in Montego Bay.

He noted that PHIs “have made remarkable contributions to the sustainable development of this country through the promotion of environmental hygiene”.

“We have made incredible strides during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and so it is fitting that public health, which has shown its resilience, should showcase its officers who, while battling the pandemic, were instrumental in carrying out their routine activities,” Mr. Myers added.

Activities for the week got under way on Sunday, with a church service at the Brown’s Town Methodist Church in St. Ann, and a virtual ceremony is scheduled for October 25, to honour outstanding persons who served the profession over the past year.

In addition, Mr. Myers told JIS News that the JAPHI will be collaborating with local and international partners such as the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to host several virtual conferences and webinars from October 25 to 29.

The topics to be discussed include ‘the Black Community Vaccine Initiative: Ensuring Barrier-Free Vaccine Access’ and ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic: The Ongoing Challenge of Vaccine Hesitancy’ on October 25; ‘Food Insecurity: A Growing Concern’, ‘COVID-19 and Refocusing Chemical Policies for Public Health’ on October 26; and ‘Development of Guidelines and Procedures – COVID-19 and other Public Health Matters’ on October 27.

The virtual sessions will continue October 28 with updates from the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) and an examination of ‘High Volume Air Conditioning (HVAC) and COVID-19’; and the JAPHI will also stage its Annual General Meeting (business session) on that day.

On October 29, members will discuss ‘The Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors: The Last 40 Years’.

“Along with that, we will be having various activities in the parishes. Officers will be sensitising the public on the activities of public health inspectors,” Mr. Myers told JIS News.

The week of activities will culminate on October 30 with the election of the entity’s new executive, which will serve for the next two years.

For her part, JAPHI’s President, Karen Brown, informed that the entity currently has a 12-member executive body and more than 400 members across the island.

She said that despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, JAPHI remains committed to “strengthening environmental health to better serve the population”.