JAMAICA’S public health sector received a major boost on Monday with the donation of critical equipment valued at just over $34 million that, according to renowned philanthropist Carol Picart, forms part of her overall desire to help improve life expectancy and reverse the declining birthrate here.

Picart, in collaboration with the National Health Care Enhancement Foundation, presented two ventilators costing $11.57 million, and an endoscopy unit comprising a gastroscope and colonoscope valued at $23 million in a ceremony at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).

Gastroscopes are used to diagnose conditions like ulcers or gastritis, take tissue samples, and perform minor treatments such as stopping bleeding.

Colonoscopes are used to examine the inside of the large intestine and rectum. They are fitted with a light and video camera that sends real time images to a monitor, allowing doctors to identify issues like inflammation, ulcers, bleeding, polyps, and tumours.

The equipment will be used at KPH, Cornwall Regional and Black River hospitals.

“I think with the instruments that have been donated it’s [about] trying to see if we can get the life expectancy or birth rate back up, because it’s been on a very deep decline and I think that’s because of a lack of resources,” Picart said.

“I think it’s just wanting to give back; I think that in some ways you’re always supposed to give back. Maybe it’s Maslow’s theory, the hierarchy of needs — at a place where you become [at a certain level] accomplished, then you give back, and that’s all it is. At this point it’s just being able to give good help,” added Picart.

Maslow’s theory is a psychological framework by Abraham Maslow that proposes human motivation is driven by a hierarchy of five basic needs — physiological (air, food, water); safety (security, health); love/belonging (friendship, intimacy); esteem (respect, recognition); and self-actualisation (achieving one’s full potential).

The theory suggests that lower-level needs must be substantially met before a person can be motivated by higher-level needs.

Picart’s concerns are not unfounded as a 2023 World Health Organization (WHO) report states that Jamaica’s life expectancy has worsened by 2.11 years, from 72.3 years in 2000 to 70.1 years, in 2021.

Additionally, the health ministry has called for an increase in the country’s dwindling birth rate as Jamaica has joined countries like South Korea and China with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2025 State of World Population report.

The report says Jamaican women are now having an average of 1.3 children in their lifetime — much lower than the 2.1 children needed to keep the population stable.

“I think it’s just having access to good medical assistance and having facilities that are up to par, Picart said. “So I think if we can up the standards — and you do it with education, it’ll go hand in hand — so that’s my whole idea: Better health for Jamaica.”

Krystal Lee, the junior minister of health and wellness, expressed gratitude for the donation.

She said that although there has been significant work done by the Health and Wellness Minster Dr Christopher Tufton to transform Jamaica’s public health-care system, there is still much to be done to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to exceptional medical care.

Lee said collaboration between the health ministry, independent donors like Picart, and corporate Jamaica is necessary to see this goal fulfilled.

“We know that whereas the health sector [is] still in the process of being transformed, our very active plight right now is to fill that gap in the primary health-care system… We still have a far way to go and so it has to be a collaborative effort and partnership that will also take us there,” Lee said.

“We know that it is through these partnerships that help us to get to where we need to get to faster and strengthen whatever programmes that we have so I want to thank you and your family for this donation, and we are looking forward to working with you on more projects to come,” Lee told Picart.

She also said the ministry is embarking on more initiatives to provide health-care facilities with additional equipment.

“Whereas the Government is investing now in strengthening primary care, if we have private persons partnering with us, that will really help to push mandates to where we need to go so I’m also appealing for that partnership. And I will assist as much as I can in helping you to meet the standards because it’s about health being one of the major pillars in the country. It is important for us to have any form of development, any form of good liberty or prosperity,” said Lee.