Exchange Programme in the Health Sector Being Explored by Jamaica and the Philippines

• An exchange programme is among areas of cooperation being put forward to improve human resources in the public healthcare sector, between the Governments of Jamaica and the Republic of the Philippines.
• Discussions are in progress as the Ministry of Health and Wellness hosts the visit of the Secretary of Health for the Republic of the Philippines, Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, from January 20 to 23.
• It is expected that the countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for human resource training and other technical support for cooperation and exchange between the countries.
• Speaking with journalists, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, said the bilateral agreement should prove to be mutually beneficial. A delegation from the Ministry recently visited the Philippines to conduct a review of the country’s public health framework.
• “I think the exchanges that we are looking at [will focus on] physicians and nurses. When we were in the Philippines, we visited a lot of their specialist hospitals and what we found was that they certainly have the numbers to give exposure to a lot of procedures. ”Dr. Bisasor-McKenzie said, noting that the Philippines boasts a strong nurse training programme.
• In terms of what Jamaica can contribute under the exchange programme, Dr. Bisasor-McKenzie pointed to the country’s very high rate of immunisation, its community mental health programme, and its well- known ‘Jamaica Moves’ public education campaign that promotes a healthy lifestyle to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

(Source: JIS)