The National Health Fund (NHF) says it is “very pleased” after walking away from the fifth annual Public Bodies Corporate Governance Awards with five awards.

At the awards ceremony, hosted by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Service (MoFPS), the NHF won the Jamaica Stock Exchange Award for Best Website; the Financial Secretary’s Award for Corporate Governance Policies, Procedures and Practices; and the Ministry of Finance and Public Service Award for Risk Measurement and Internal Controls.

It also won runner-up prizes for the Jamaica Stock Exchange Award for Best Annual Report and the Greta Bogues Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance.

“We are very pleased to have earned these five awards. Good corporate governance plays a very strong role in the day-to-day operations of the NHF, and is of utmost importance as the Fund implements relevant strategies and processes in order to yield great results for the organisation,” Everton Anderson, NHF’s chief executive officer, said in a press release.

The NHF is among 17 public bodies that participated in the PSOJ/MoFPS corporate governance competition. The four award categories are: Board composition, Functions and Structure; Corporate Governance Policies, Procedures and Practices; Risk Measurement and Internal Controls; Compliance and Disclosure of Information, as well as two special awards for Best Website and Best Annual Report.

The NHF won the PSOJ/MoFPS Award for Corporate Governance for the previous three stagings.

“We will continue to innovate and work to make the agency better – it’s a commitment. We also congratulate all the other public bodies that participated this year. It encourages us at the NHF to strive to even higher heights,” said Anderson.

The PSOJ/MoFPS Corporate Governance Awards was conceptualised to encourage public bodies to improve their standard of disclosure, instil good corporate governance principles, and to encourage adherence.