Jamaica Health Profile 2012

HEALTH & DEVELOPMENT
Health Systems and Services: The Health Service Delivery in the public sector is provided through a network of Secondary/Tertiary Care facilities consisting of 24 hospitals including 5 specialist institutions (with a bed complement of 4736); and Primary Care facilities comprising 348 health centers, managed by the four Regional Health Authorities. However, the Health Information System (HIS) is very fragmented and no HIS policy and strategic framework exist. In general, Information for planning, decision making and development of accurate situation analysis is not readily available. There is a general shortage of health care providers on key areas of health service delivery due in large part to a high attrition rate of skilled personnel, especially Dentists, Nurses and Rehabilitation Specialists in speech and occupational therapy.
There is limited drug production from imported raw material. There is a system of pharmaco- viligance in place to ensure quality maintenance. The majority of the drugs used locally is imported and as prices fluctuate this leads to an increase in costs to the end user. In the long term this is not a sustainable practice. Environmental Determinants of Health: Jamaica is on track with its water supply (93%) and sanitation coverage (80%) to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for 2015. However, water and sanitation needs are still not fully covered in rural areas (currently at 42%, compared to 87% in urban areas). There are currently a number of policies, legislation and guidelines that address different aspects of sanitation but their interrelationship is not well
defined. Gaps, overlaps and sometimes conflicts exist resulting in less than optimal utilization of scarce resources and the long-term beneficial impacts of some programmes are never realized.
MDGs: As part of the implementation of the MDGs, the Ministry of Health continues to focus its efforts on the 3 MDG priority areas for the health sector (reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases). The 2009 National Report for the ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review notes that significant progress has been made in the three areas mentioned above. However, the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases which now account for more than 50% of fatal disease outcomes was highlighted.

• Restructuring process focusing on improvements in quality of care, efficiency in health services delivery, increasing access and accountability in the management of health services.
• Existence of Jamaica National Development Plan: Vision 2030 that outlines the long term development goals including health.
• Ratification of a number of International Conventions such as IHR(2005);
• Existing bilateral and Intergovernmental partnerships for technical cooperation.
• Existence and effective implementation of the UNDAF which has a major outcome on health.

CHALLENGES
• Weak public health leadership and management.
• Weak and fragmented health information system with no national health information  policy, unreliable data and limited reporting by the private sector.
• High incidence of crime and violence and costs to the health sector.
• Increase in the burden of chronic non communicable conditions and risk factors.
• Migration of health human resources.
• Weak Essential Public Health Functions: High vulnerability to natural hazards.
• Environmental degradation and hazards due to inadequate land use/planning.
• Insufficient policy frameworks and standards and inadequate planning, monitoring and evaluation, and enforcement of health legislation.
• Health care financing and sustainability of health services
• Reduction in national budget and external aid due to country’s classification as “Lower Middle Income country”.
• Low absorptive capacity for health development programmes in the Public Sector.