Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean with the largest populace. It is a land that is vulnerable to natural disasters. While it is defined as an upper middle-income country—Jamaica has struggled due to low growth, public debt, and exposure to the effects of climate change. world bank site. The Ministry of Health reports that Jamaica’s strategic policy priorities are to enhance accountability, leadership and governance in the health sector, ensure accessibility to health services, provide cross check with regard to health systems delivery, reduce adverse outcomes from preventable illness, and lessen the severity of the impact of nonpreventable ones (IHME, 2017).
These priorities are also aligned with the World Health Organizations building blocks which are Service Delivery, Health Workforce, Health Information Systems, Access to Essential Medicines, Financing, and Governance. Areas of focus include maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS/TB and other infectious diseases, disaster management, public-private partnerships, and policy( Ministry of Health Jamaica, 2014).
Worldwide an approximate 300,000 women die due to preventable complications related to childbirth.
The under 5 mortality rates have declined, however, millions of children die from preventable causes—almost half of those preventable deaths occur within the first 30 days of life. The global rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence has declined but falls short of the rate needed to meet targets. Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of ill health and death because there are still large gaps in detection and treatment efforts. Research has indicated at least half of the global population does not have access to essential health services.
The financial burden of seeking care forces many into extreme poverty. Moreover, drug resistant illness is a continuing threat. There have been no significant gains in reducing the amount of Malaria cases worldwide (PAHO, 2012). While the under five mortality rate for Jamaica and HIV/AIDS prevalence has decreased in the last ten years. The UN reports that progress is slow with regard to addressing diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis which is in line with global trends.
The United Nations reports that as of 2015 over 300 million people worldwide were living with hepatitis b or c. The availability and accessibility of vaccines has reduced the incidence of new chronic infections in under 5 populations (United Nations, 2015). The Sustainable Development goals aim to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 births, increase the amount of skilled attended births, end preventable deaths of children under 5, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases, increase the amount of the population with access to affordable medicines on a sustainable basis, cover essential health services and support more research and advancement of medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases (United Nations, 2019).
In Jamaica, immunization coverage was high for children under 5 for communicable diseases in the last ten years. However, the three leading causes of death for all children were respiratory infections and perinatal disorders. In 2008 the Governing body of Jamaica abolished user fees for services in all public health facilities with the goal of making care more accessible. This did lead to increased utilization, however, one impact was a shortage of funds to respond to the demand. PAHO reports there are no significant barriers preventing physical access to basic public health services. As a result, Jamaica’s disease profile has shifted. In the past, its disease profile was dominated by infectious diseases. In contrast, today, Jamaicas disease profile is dominated by chronic illnesses. Vision 2020 Jamaica aims to improve health outcomes by integrating issues that impact social determinants of health such as gender, age, and disability into their development efforts. The life expectancy at birth is expected to increase to more than 76 years by 2030 and wherewithal for the health sector are expected to increase overall (Paho, 2012).
Jamaica’s efforts are aligned with the targets indicated within the global goals. They have named the need to work from an ecological public health approach which is a shift from a clinical approach. The aim to consider social determinants of health is a proactive and comprehensive methodology. While indicators mention Jamaica is a long way from achieving equitable outcomes by 2030—so are most countries. The willingness to eliminate medical fees in public sectors is a step closer. In order for all people within communities to thrive, we need to consider how the people experiencing life in the most marginalized and unprotected spaces can be supported. When this becomes an intentional practice, it will increase the likelihood that the whole can function more effectively and evolve into more authentic and response-able communities.
Sources
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (2017, September 15). Jamaica. Retrieved from http://www.healthdata.org/jamaica
Ministry of Health Jamaica. (2014). Ministry of Health Strategic Business Plan 2015-2018. Https://Moh.gov.jm/Wp-Content/Uploads/2015/07/Ministry-of-Healths-Strategic-Business-Plan-2015-2018.Pdf, 1–186. Retrieved from https://moh.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Ministry-of-Healths-Strategic-Business-Plan-2015-2018.pdf
Pan American Heath Organization. (2012). Salud en las Américas 2012: Health in the Americas 2012. Retrieved from https://www.paho.org/salud-en-las-americas-2012/index.php?lang=en
United Nations. (2015). SDGs .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals
United Nations. (2019, February). Goal 3 .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg3
World Bank. (2019, October). Overview. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/jamaica/overview#3
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