Jamaica to strengthen its national health care system with IDB support
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has provided loans in the sum of US$100 million to assist Jamaica in its fight against non-communicable diseases (NCD).
The Government says that the funding from the IDB will strengthen health policies that target NCD risk factors and treatment. These policies include providing higher-quality care and improving access to public-health networks, with an emphasis on chronic-disease management.
Jamaica's NCD prevention policy seeks to address two main challenges. The first is prevention of NCDs by addressing four preventable risk factors: tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, a sedentary lifestyle, and unhealthy dietary habits. The second is improving the quality of life and care for people living with NCDs. It also involves preventing premature NCD-related deaths.
Five years ago, the Government developed the National Strategic and Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases. It aims at reducing the burden of NCDs and injuries by 25 per cent by 2025. The Government's goals for this loan programme are to reduce the public's exposure to risk factors for NCDs; to provide increased capacity in health centres and hospitals to diagnose and treat NCD patients; and to reorient Jamaica's health systems to address prevention and control of NCDs through consumer-oriented primary healthcare.
The hybrid loan includes two complementary elements: a US$50 million Programmatic Policy-Based (PBP) loan and a US$50 million investment loan. The PBP will fund the necessary regulations and policies to implement coherent and comprehensive health sector strategy. The investment loan will fund improvements in Jamaica's primary-care system and will improve the management, quality, and efficiency of Jamaica's hospital and health-service networks.
This hybrid programme is the first of a programmatic policy-based loan series for Jamaica's health sector, which will be made up of two contractually independent and technically linked loans.