Health in Jamaica
Part of this is from the fact that close to half of the healthcare workers from the area are leaving for the better opportunities that are offered elsewhere.
Healthcare for this population was not a concern considering the terms of slavery, but attention was brought for pregnancy because infant mortality was profound.
Some changes were made such as reassigning pregnant women to lighter tasks and rewarding them for having more than five children but these physicians did not combat diseases or the poor diet of this population.
By 1903 40 district medical officers were appointed, but healthcare was not the primary concern as Jamaica was now developing as a country and was plagued with one of the world’s worst natural disasters in 1907 with the Kingston Earthquake.
Life expectancy in Jamaica as new healthcare systems came about did not change however which led to the government calling on the Rockefeller Foundation to help in combating infectious diseases.
[2] The Rockefeller Foundation provided fellowships for training to upgrade staff leading to universities in health.
[2]These contributions led to the development of the health curriculum in Jamaican Universities such as the College of West Indies and it had its first class of 33 aspiring doctors in 1948.
[2] Due to the riots of 1938, political parties within Jamaica formed which were strong enough to break away from colonial rule in 1962.
[3] After this large scale healthcare reforms started to be put in place such as the National Insurance Act .
[3] This decentralized the health sector in Jamaica allowing to set up regional hospitals and more efficiently deliver healthcare to its citizens.
This set the table for the National Health Services Act to be passed in 2003 which created a tax funded government healthcare system.
[4] There are many programs available in the form of cards in which possessing could subside or provide medication for the top diseases as well as access to healthcare facilities.
[3] Although hospitals vary from region depending on financials and staffing often leading people to private doctors, only 30% of the population was enrolled in this healthcare system pre covid (2018-19).
The National Health Fund has a “securing the future”[4] strategic plan until 2030 to evaluate improvements to the system.
The NHF however is a major stepping stone in universal healthcare for Jamaica considering its history from the colonial ages to independence and has the power to do good.
[5] Health care in Jamaica is free to all citizens and legal residents at the public hospitals and clinics.
[6] An audit in 2015 identified shortages of manpower, equipment, medications, wheelchairs, stretchers, gloves, beds, and other essential supplies.
Because of this, there have been movements of the Sickle Cell Care Unit balancing the limited resources and increased survival rates.
[11] As a result of the large impact of Covid-19 on the country, the government undertook a Covid-19 response and recovery plan for poor and vulnerable communities.
