$19.7b allocated for the provision of pharmaceutical and medical supplies, says Clarke
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A total of $19.7 billion has been allocated for the provision of pharmaceutical and medical supplies in the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, made the disclosure as he opened the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 12.
Dr Clarke informed that there has been an increase in pharmaceutical and medical supplies cost over the past few years, from $8.8 billion to $19.7 billion over three fiscal years.
“If you are to project this kind of rate forward for the next three or four years, then you could end up with something unsustainable. The Ministry of Health has long sounded the alarm… but we are working together, supported by the World Bank, on a public expenditure review, and once that is done, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health will work in tandem over the medium term to discuss some of the ways in which we can address this challenge,” Dr Clarke said.
In the meanwhile, $11.5 billion has been allocated to support the construction of three hospitals at the same time.
“To the best of my knowledge, there is no parallel for this volume and pace of health infrastructure investment over the past 50 years,” Dr Clarke stated.
A total of $3.4 billion has been provided to support construction of the Spanish Town Hospital, commence civil works at the Greater Portmore, St Jago and Old Harbour health centres, and the procurement of furniture and equipment for the named facilities.
Also, $5.8 billion has been allocated to finalise design and construction works related to Phase three of the redevelopment of the Cornwall Regional Hospital, and $1.1 billion has been provided to support the National HIV/AIDS Response in Jamaica by continuing activities aimed at reducing infections through effective biomedical and supporting interventions.
A total of $800 million has been allocated to facilitate ongoing activities in the construction and equipping of the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital on the grounds of the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
In addition, some $481 million has been allocated towards the construction of a modern University Hospital of the West Indies.
-JIS
