Jamaica Gleaner
Published: Monday | June 29, 2009
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Health investments in trouble - Spencer
Minister of Health Ruddy Spencer has said global occurrences such as the spread of influenza A (H1N1 virus) and the current economic recession are "threatening health gains and undermining future investments in health".

Latest figures from the health ministry indicate that the number of confirmed cases in Jamaica has now increased to 27.

Spencer was speaking last Wednesday at the ministry's first national performance review for 2009/2010 at the Hilton Kingston hotel. The review is one of two held annually by the ministry.

"Governments are now likely to cut back on spending on social services, such as health and education, and development partners might find it hard to maintain or even increase assistance to developing countries," Spencer argued.

His comments were supported by Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation repre-sentative in Jamaica, Dr Ernest Pate, who reported that shrinking international development funds could force health services to become more efficient in managing scarce resources.

Development assistance

This was especially so because Jamaica's status as a middle-income country prevented it from fully benefiting, as it had in the past, from the largesse of international lenders. Pate explained that the country has been losing development assistance with each improvement in its health indices.

"There is a logical and legal reason for this. A lot of countries that are donor countries have constitutions which state that they can't give resources to a country where the indices are the same as theirs," he said.

Pate added that a shift has also been made from funding specific ministries, such as health, to a multi-sectoral approach which will see resources being split among different sectors.

He said the new paradigm in which international donors operate will also demand greater accountability for funds, with disbursement linked to results.

Permanent secretary in the health ministry, Dr Grace Allen-Young, said the review will allow the ministry to see where it stands in relation to the Vision 2030 objectives and the National Strategic Plan for 2006-2010.

The function also included presentations on the health-sector reform, strengthening of the primary health-care approach and the abolition of user fees.

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