Jamaica receives 20 medical refrigeration units from Direct Relief
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Jamaican’s public health system has received a donation of 20 medical refrigeration units valued at US$140,378 for the storage of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical items.
The units, provided by international humanitarian aid organisation Direct Relief have been deployed to 14 hospitals, one in each parish, and six health centres across the island.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, said that the units are critical for the storage of insulin and cancer treatment drugs for thousands of Jamaicans.
“Through the donation, we’re able to boost our healthcare system, especially now during the coronavirus (COVID-19). This is definitely needed,” she noted.
Cuthbert-Flynn was speaking at the official handover of the units at the National Health Fund’s (NHF) Dominica Drive address in St Andrew on Thursday (July 8).
Member of Parliament for East Rural St Andrew, Juliet Holness, who played a pivotal role in arranging the donation of the refrigeration units, expressed gratitude to Direct Relief for agreeing to extend the support from an initial two hospitals.
“They listened and went through the process of [finding out] where our major hospitals were, what… we wanted in each and by the time we were finished, we said, okay, ‘we don’t need to do just two hospitals here; we want to be able to do at least every major hospital we have in a parish’,” she said.
Director of Programme Operations at Direct Relief, Genevieve Bitter, in her remarks noted that the donation is a good demonstration of the ongoing relationship between the organisation and the NHF.
“I think that what makes [the donation] unique [is] that it’s not a disposable item; it’s not a consumable medicine; it’s a piece of equipment that we really do hope will strengthen the supply chain capacity, and that was the goal,” she noted.
Based in California in the United States, Direct Relief works with service organisations in the US and internationally to equip doctors and nurses with life-saving medical resources to care for the world’s most vulnerable people.
The NHF has previously benefited from donations of pharmaceutical drugs medical sundries and personal-care items, through partnership between Direct Relief and the Issa Trust Foundation.
