JAMAICA and The Philippines have signed an agreement for the training of health professionals at the University of The Philippines Manila (UP Manila).

“The partnership will see remote and face-to-face training of Jamaican registered nurses specialising in a range of clinical practices, by faculty from The Philippines. Those nurses will then then do a short stint of clinical rotation in The Philippines. This will address the challenge of the shortage of Jamaican faculty and clinical rotation space,” said Minister of Health & Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton.

“The partnership, which is intended to develop training programmes with UP Manila’s College of Nursing and the Philippine General Hospital, will also see the training of trainers to enhance the country’s capacity to expand offerings on the island,” the minister added.

The agreement represents the first fruits of a memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries in January when the Secretary of Health for The Philippines Dr Teodoro Herbosa visited the island.

Speaking at a press conference following the official signing ceremony on Tuesday morning in Manila, Tufton welcomed the partnership with the university and the hospital while affirming the value of the Jamaica-Philippines collaboration.

The collaboration has its genesis in the common vision to provide global leadership on expanding training for health-care workers, shared by the minister and Secretary Herbosa in the halls of the 77th World Health Assembly a year ago.

“What we have conceptualised and are developing is a sustainable model of working together to expand faculty, to train trainers who are Jamaicans and, of course, other opportunities to train more Jamaicans in the specialised nursing areas, in the first instance,” Tufton said.

“What that will do is allow more Jamaicans to be qualified in the various specialised areas — such as oncology, paediatrics, and critical care — to work in our hospitals and support the people of Jamaica,” he added.

It also demonstrated, the minister noted, what is possible with South-South cooperation.