SALUTATIONS
THE FACT THAT WE ARE HERE THIS MORNING TO SIGN THE CONTRACTS FOR THE DESIGN OF MATERNAL AND NEONATAL HIGH DEPENDENCY UNITS IS THE CLEAREST INDICATION OF THE ACTION I INITIATED, ON TAKING OVER THE HEALTH PORTFOLIO, TO REDUCE THE MATERNAL AND CHILD MORTALITY RATES. THIS ACTION, WHICH I INITIATED, HAS NOW BECOME PROMAC – THE PROGRAMME FOR THE REDUCTION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD MORTALITY.
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNISE THAT THE CHALLENGES THAT PROMAC FACES ARE BY NO MEANS PECULIAR TO JAMAICA. IT IS A GLOBAL ISSUE. ACCORDING TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, EVERY YEAR, AN ESTIMATED 15 MILLION BABIES ARE BORN PRETERM WHICH MEANS BEFORE 37 COMPLETED WEEKS OF GESTATION, AND THIS NUMBER IS RISING.
GLOBALLY, PRETERM BIRTH COMPLICATIONS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE AND WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR NEARLY ONE (1) MILLION DEATHS IN 2013. ACROSS 184 COUNTRIES, THE RATE OF PRETERM BIRTH RANGES FROM 5% TO 18% OF BABIES BORN.
DATA FROM A DEATH EVALUATION STUDY FOR 2008 CONDUCTED BY PIOJ INDICATE THAT THE LEADING CAUSE OR ABOUT 91% OF UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY IS INFANT MORTALITY AND THE MAJORITY OR 80% OF INFANT DEATHS OCCUR DURING THE NEONATAL PERIOD.
OF THE NEONATAL DEATHS, SOME 87% OCCURRED IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LIFE AND WERE MAINLY DUE TO PREMATURITY AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS OF THE PERINATAL PERIOD. SOME 64% OF ALL DEATHS IN THE UNDER-FIVE YEAR AGE GROUP OCCURRED IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LIFE. EVEN BEFORE 2013 WHEN PROMAC STARTED SAW THE NEED TO EXPAND NEONATAL CARE SERVICES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CARE GIVEN TO THE PREMATURE INFANT. IN TERMS OF MATERNAL MORTALITY, ONE CRITICAL FACTOR SLOWING THE RATE OF REDUCTION IN MATERNAL MORTALITY HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS). THE INCIDENCE OF NCDS IN THE ANTENATAL POPULATION HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR AS WELL AS MORBIDITY FROM HYPERTENSION, HEART DISEASE AND DIABETES, OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY EVEN IN YOUNG MOTHERS.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE DELAY IN RECEIVING APPROPRIATE CARE IN THE HOSPITAL IS THE MAIN CONTRIBUTOR TO MATERNAL DEATHS. THEREFORE WE BELIEVED THAT ENHANCING THE CARE OF THE PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE HOSPITAL SETTING AND AT THE PRIMARY CARE LEVEL WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO.
WHILE WE RECOGNISE THE CHALLENGES POSED GLOBALLY, OUR COMMITMENT TO THE JAMAICAN PEOPLE IS TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE RATE OF MATERNAL AND CHILD MORTALITY TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. TODAY, WE ARE MOVING FURTHER ALONG THE PROCESS TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CHILD AND MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIOS. INVESTING IN OUR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IS AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY AND ENSURING THAT WE MOVE CLOSER TO MEETING OUR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE OF A HEALTHY AND STABLE POPULATION BY 2030.
IN RECOGNITION OF THIS WE SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL WHICH WAS APPROVED AND JAMAICA WAS ALLOCATED €22 MILLION OR CLOSE TO J$3 BILLION BY THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU). THIS IS THE LARGEST GRANT EVER TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR TO SUPPORT JAMAICA’S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THESE CRITICAL AREAS.
TODAY, WE ARE OFFICIALLY SIGNING CONTRACTS VALUED AT J$253.1 MILLION FOR THE DESIGN AND EQUIPPING OF 11 MATERNAL AND NEONATAL HIGH DEPENDENCY UNITS IN SIX HOSPITALS AS FOLLOWS:
DESIGN OF HIGH DEPENDENCY UNITS
- €470,000 OR OVER J$61.9 MILLION FOR DESIGN
SERVICES FOR THE MATERNAL AND NEONATAL
HIGH DEPENDENCY UNITS AT VICTORIA JUBILEE, MANDEVILLE REGIONAL AND CORNWALL REGIONAL, BUSTAMANTE HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN, SPANISH TOWN AND ST. ANN’S BAY REGIONAL HOSPITALS.
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
- € 100,000 – J$13.53 MILLION FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR FOUR (4) PRIMARY CARE CENTRES – SAVANNA LA
MAR, ST. JAGO PARK, MANDEVILLE COMPREHENSIVE AND ANNOTTO BAY HEALTH CENTRES AND TWO (2) COMMUNITY HOSPITALS – ALEXANDRIA AND CHAPELTON.
AMBULANCES
- €632,000 – J$85.5 MILLION FOR THE PURCHASE OF SIX (6) AMBULANCES.
EQUIPMENT
- €724,000 – J$95.5 MILLION FOR EQUIPMENT FOR MANDEVILLE REGIONAL HOSPITAL’S NEONATAL HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT AND AMBULANCES AND ARRANGEMENTS ARE BEING MADE TO PROCURE EQUIPMENT FOR TEN REMAINING HIGH DEPENDENCY UNITS.
TODAY, WE ARE ALSO SIGNING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE NATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING BOARD VALUED AT €300,000 OR J$39.4 MILLION TO SUPPORT THE IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOR AMONG THE TARGETED POPULATION AND THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ACHIEVING THIS.
AS I SAID PREVIOUSLY THIS COMPONENT IS SIGNIFICANT TO ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF WOMEN NOT SEEKING ANTENATAL CARE EARLY ENOUGH WHICH PUTS THEM AND THEIR BABIES AT RISK FOR COMPLICATIONS. UNDER THIS MOU WE WILL SEE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES ON CHILD AND MATERNAL HEALTH INCLUDING NUTRITION, CHRONIC DISEASE AND PARENTING SKILLS TARGETING WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE AND PARENTS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE. THE MOU WITH THE NATIONAL PLANNING BOARD WILL BE MANAGED BY THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH.
SINCE THE COMMENCEMENT OF PROMAC, SPECIALIZED TRAINING OF NURSES AND DOCTORS HAS BEEN ONGOING AT THE UWI AND IN-SERVICE TRAINING OF THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY HEALTHCARE TEAM HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE AREA OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH. WE HAVE SO FAR TRAINED:
- 1000 PRIMARY CARE WORKERS,
- 200 COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDES,
- 86 PHYSICIANS AND NURSES,
- 20 NURSES IN NEO-NATAL CARE WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEPLOYED TO THE FIELD AS OF JULY 2015
- FELLOWSHIPS HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO 7 CANDIDATES IN NEONATOLOGY, MATERNAL FOETAL MEDICINE AND CRITICAL CARE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES AND AN ADDITIONAL 14 CANDIDATES ARE TO BE TRAINED IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
- 2 YEAR GRANTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO NINE (9) DOCTOR OF MEDICINE CANDIDATES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST INDIES IN ANAESTHESIOLOGY, OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY AND PAEDIATRICS AND ANOTHER 27 GRANTS ARE TO BE AWARDED.
- WE ALSO COMPLETED IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR THE FIRST COHORT OF 25 NURSES FOR NEONATOLOGY AND 32 FOR CRITICAL CARE IN APRIL 2015. THE 2ND COHORT FOR NEONATOLOGY INVOLVING 22 NURSES COMMENCED TRAINING IN OCTOBER 2015.
I BELIEVE THAT THIS PROGRAMME WILL RESULT IN A MAJOR SHIFT IN HOW WE MANAGE NEONATES AND PREGNANT WOMEN AND WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE AREAS. THIS IS JUST THE START OF MUCH MORE TO COME THROUGH PROMAC. WE ARE MOVING FULL SPEED AHEAD AND I AM HAPPY THAT THE EU IS ON BOARD AND HAS BEEN FULLY ON BOARD FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. I WANT TO THANK AMBASSADOR AND HER TEAM FOR THE VERY FRUITFUL PARTNERSHIP.
I WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO URGE ALL CONTRACT AWARDEES TO ENSURE THAT THEY DELIVER THE SERVICES IN A TIMELY MANNER AND TO STRICTLY ADHERE TO THE STANDARDS AND AGREEMENTS THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THESE CONTRACTS. LET ME ALSO THANK ALL THE PARTNERS WHO HAVE MADE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE AND I WISH THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF THE CITIZENS OF JAMAICA.
IN CLOSING, LET ME PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE RECEIVED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA AS WELL AS REQUESTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. I WILL BE GIVING A FULLSOME RESPONSE TO BOTH THE PRESS AND THE PUBLIC IN A BROADCAST TO THE NATION ON SUNDAY NIGHT.
THANK YOU.