Dear Editor,

A popular song by Terror Fabulous and Nadine Sutherland decries “bag ah mouth” and calls for “action”. Jamaica must heed this call.

There is constant talk about male marginalisation, but where are the solutions? Where is the support for families raising boys, especially single mothers? Where are the income streams to put food on the table and jobs to match the qualifications our young men present? Where are the scholarships, the career paths, and the recognition for achievement?

As Buju Banton puts it, it is an “untold story…full up ah education but no own no payroll”. Plenty talk, but when applications are made, it is nada dinero, no opportunities, no funding. The reality is frustration and stagnation.

Then there are the crocodile tears over the loss of Cuban medical support. While we appreciate their contribution, their first duty is to their own country. Their departure should not catch us unprepared. Instead of lamenting and ‘cow bawling’, where are the urgent plans to beef up our own educational access to learn medicine?

Increase spaces in medical institutions now, expand training across all levels, and strengthen public health education so people know how to take care of themselves. ‘Prevention betta dan cure.’

This has been long in the making. We are still waiting on critical upgrades, including facilities like the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Meanwhile, institutions such as the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, which cares for spinal cord victims, many from gunshot wounds and road crashes, need proper resources — surgical suites, diagnostics, and pharmacies.

Our health sector is being asked to carry water in fractured buckets. At the same time, we must incentivise and retain our own medical professionals who continue to train others globally. Meaningless infightings must cease and put energy to be armed in an international climate of division.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica must “forward up” the data and get things moving — now and for the future.

Without health, there can be no wealth and no more births, unless we can build a house and home on Jamaican earth. “Can you cause a chain reaction?”

Catherine Neil

helenannelizabethwilkinson@yahoo.co.uk