Tufton: Jamaica can assist region in developing mosquito control programmes

HEALTH Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica has the capacity to assist other Caribbean countries in developing effective mosquito control programmes.

The country, he said, has the benefit of the intellectual resources of the ministry and other stakeholders such as the University of the West Indies (UWI), Pan American Health Organization, and Jamaica Red Cross, among others.

“I think that as one of the larger Caribbean territories with [this] benefit… we have an obligation to help our brothers and sisters in the region. So, whatever we do here, we should take the view that we are willing to transfer some of that knowledge and information and coordinate and collaborate within the Caribbean,” Dr Tufton said.

He noted that the UWI, as a regional institution, is ideally suited to assist in this regard. “We really ought to not just out of (a sense of) duty, but out of our own self-interest, because of the nature of how viruses and diseases are spread,” he noted. Read more

Source: Jamaica Observer