A renewed public-private partnership is expected to further boost access to care for persons living in Jamaica with HIV.
The private access to HIV drugs is under the Health Connect Jamaica programme.
It’s a network of private clinicians, laboratories and pharmacies that provide confidential, affordable and quality HIV services.
The Ministry of Health, the University of the West Indies and the United States Agency for International Development, USAIDS signed a Memorandum of Understanding this morning to renew the partnership.
State Minister, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Juliet Cuthbert Flynn says this will allow HIV patients who prefer private access to medication to be linked to care longterm.
She says the programme is welcomed because it cushions Jamaica’s constraints in providing care for people living with HIV.
Meanwhile, Country Director for USAID, Jason Fraser says persons will be able to access care online.
Jason Fraser, Country Director for USAID.
The UWI Mona and the Ministry of Health will govern the operations of Health Connect Jamaica
The network of participants under the programme will facilitate linkage of private sector data to the public database.
This will help to account for diagnosed HIV patients previously considered never linked to the public system.
