WASHINGTON DC, United States – Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Stephen Vasciannie, has commended the efforts of the Washington-based organisation, Women at Real Risk (WARR), for their outstanding contribution in the fight against breast cancer.

Ambassador Vasciannie, who was addressing WARR’s 13th annual breast cancer awareness gala, at the Sheraton Hotel in Silver Spring, Maryland recently, said that Women at Real Risk provides outstanding service to women in Jamaica, mainly in the health sector.

“Their service has touched the lives of scores of Jamaican women through its medical mission. The outreach missions undertaken by the organisation serve as a model for other Diaspora groups based in the United States of America and elsewhere,” he said.

The Ambassador said that each life rescued by the medical missions of WARR is a triumph of humanitarianism, and a tribute to its founder, Totlyn Taylor-Newby and her colleagues who keep the organisation going.

He noted that health care is a developmental issue, and pointed out that economic growth and progress cannot take place in a society bedeviled by diseases. Against this background, Vasciannie said that the Government of Jamaica continues with its efforts to ensure that primary health care, in particular, is readily available to Jamaicans of all walks of life.

 “But the needs are great, and the state’s capacity is limited, so all efforts to improve our health care facilities are much appreciated.”