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Education and health policies
- major breather for the poor, the vulnerable
Floyd Morris
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
This month marks one year since the government abolished user fees in the public health sector. The abolition of the fees has led to numerous discussions whether this new policy is sustainable.
Floyd Morris I would like to take this opportunity to once again weigh in on the government's new approach towards health and education. I want to express my full support for the government's policy on both health and education up to the secondary level.
I have been one who has been schooled in a democratic socialist philosophy. I do accept the realities of the time that we live in and so I accept the market as the model for managing the economy. However, from a philosophical perspective, social policy should not be determined by market mechanisms. This is why I endorse the Golding policy on
health and education up to the secondary level.
I have had reasons to do work in the various hospitals across the country during the past year. I have been amazed by the large number of individuals whom I have seen at the hospitals. It is true that the new policy has put some pressure on the sector. But there has always been a shortage of health professionals and this is not likely to change any time soon. It takes an average of three years to train a nurse and five for a doctor. All of this was expected when the new policy was announced. I am now deeply joyful for this approach, because can you imagine how the poor of this country would operate in this global economic crisis if they were required to pay hospital fees?
While one cannot ignore the arguments of sustainability, one must consider the role and responsibilities of a government. The fundamental role of government is to provide security for its people, provide quality education, adequate health service and an environment for production and productivity to thrive. Our governments have failed to provide adequate security for our people. The environment has not been well established for production and productivity to improve, and this is why the efforts to provide the citizens with affordable and accessible education and health services are of fundamental importance to me.
The disabled constitute a major group seeking public health facilities in Jamaica. This is a group of individuals, along with senior citizens, whom I hold dear to my heart. My efforts as a minister of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security were spent in advocating for and implementing programmes and policies for these two groups. These are poor people and the ones who are most vulnerable to the shocks of this global meltdown.
There are over 650,000 disabled and elderly individuals in Jamaica, and when the children are added to this number, it makes approximately one million Jamaicans benefiting immediately from the new health policy. Data from the Ministry of Health show that in the period April 2007 to February 2008, there were approximately 1.2 million visits to the various hospitals across the island. The corresponding period for 2008-2009 indicated that there were approximately 1.25 million visits, a marginal increase of approximately two per cent over the previous year. In the health centres there was a more substantial increase. The period for December 2007 showed approximately 1.1 million visits. The corresponding period for 2008 showed approximately 1.2 million visits: an increase of approximately 9.5 per cent over 2007.
There has been ongoing debate as to whether or not the current policies for funding health and education are sustainable, in light of scarce financial resources. The matter of funding the social services is always of critical importance. This is a matter that all administrations have had to grapple with. The issue is how we prioritise in the context of limited resources and how we pool our creative minds to make these priorities achievable. It is within this context I want to put forward an approach to fund both the health and education sectors.
I want to suggest that we look seriously at placing a special charge on all remittances flowing into the island. I suggest that US$1 out of every US$10 be deducted for a special fund to build and repair schools and hospitals across the island. This is likely to give the government between US$150-US$200 million annually. Currently, about US$2 billion flows into the country from remittances each year, most of which goes into consumption.
But in order to effect this special charge, a certain approach has to be adopted by the government. First, there must be dialogue between the government and the overseas "Jamerican" community about this extremely important matter. They must be consulted to get stakeholder support and to explain the rationale for such an endeavour. Such an initiative cannot be implemented without our overseas brothers and sisters, who have benefited significantly from these social services while they were resident in Jamaica, buying into the idea. These Jamaicans are unlikely to have any objections to such a noble cause once it is properly packaged and marketed to them.
The second issue is that the special charges must be backed by legislation. There must be a legislative regime to protect the use of the fund. The money collected should be used for four specific purposes: expanding and improving the physical plants of schools; expanding the capacity of the Students' Loan Bureau to respond to tertiary students; providing pharmaceutical support for hospitals and providing hospitals and health centres with modern medical equipment. The money collected must be used for the intended purposes or else there will be a stakeholder revolt. This money must not be pooled with the general Consolidated Fund.
The third issue to be considered is the administrative mechanism. A special board must be put in place to provide oversight for these funds. The board should be chaired by an overseas Jamaican who has strong ties to the country. The board should also have a representative spread of overseas Jamaicans who are able to visit the island regularly for meetings. If necessary, a special audit team of overseas Jamaicans should be allowed to audit the funds from time to time to ensure that the money collected is being used for the intended purposes.
It is my belief that if we try this approach we would generate sufficient funds to finance our education and health sectors on a sustainable basis. It is likely to generate between $13 - $18 billion annually without incurring any further growth of our national debt. From this sum of money, between $5-$8 billion would go to health and a minimum of $10 billion would go towards education. We must therefore move with alacrity to make it happen so that we can provide the best health and education system for our people and to give them the break they truly deserve.
Floyd Morris was Jamaica's first blind senator and minister of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security under the PNP administration.
morrisfloyd@gmail.com
- major breather for the poor, the vulnerable
Floyd Morris
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
This month marks one year since the government abolished user fees in the public health sector. The abolition of the fees has led to numerous discussions whether this new policy is sustainable.
Floyd Morris I would like to take this opportunity to once again weigh in on the government's new approach towards health and education. I want to express my full support for the government's policy on both health and education up to the secondary level.I have been one who has been schooled in a democratic socialist philosophy. I do accept the realities of the time that we live in and so I accept the market as the model for managing the economy. However, from a philosophical perspective, social policy should not be determined by market mechanisms. This is why I endorse the Golding policy on
health and education up to the secondary level.
I have had reasons to do work in the various hospitals across the country during the past year. I have been amazed by the large number of individuals whom I have seen at the hospitals. It is true that the new policy has put some pressure on the sector. But there has always been a shortage of health professionals and this is not likely to change any time soon. It takes an average of three years to train a nurse and five for a doctor. All of this was expected when the new policy was announced. I am now deeply joyful for this approach, because can you imagine how the poor of this country would operate in this global economic crisis if they were required to pay hospital fees?
While one cannot ignore the arguments of sustainability, one must consider the role and responsibilities of a government. The fundamental role of government is to provide security for its people, provide quality education, adequate health service and an environment for production and productivity to thrive. Our governments have failed to provide adequate security for our people. The environment has not been well established for production and productivity to improve, and this is why the efforts to provide the citizens with affordable and accessible education and health services are of fundamental importance to me.
The disabled constitute a major group seeking public health facilities in Jamaica. This is a group of individuals, along with senior citizens, whom I hold dear to my heart. My efforts as a minister of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security were spent in advocating for and implementing programmes and policies for these two groups. These are poor people and the ones who are most vulnerable to the shocks of this global meltdown.
There are over 650,000 disabled and elderly individuals in Jamaica, and when the children are added to this number, it makes approximately one million Jamaicans benefiting immediately from the new health policy. Data from the Ministry of Health show that in the period April 2007 to February 2008, there were approximately 1.2 million visits to the various hospitals across the island. The corresponding period for 2008-2009 indicated that there were approximately 1.25 million visits, a marginal increase of approximately two per cent over the previous year. In the health centres there was a more substantial increase. The period for December 2007 showed approximately 1.1 million visits. The corresponding period for 2008 showed approximately 1.2 million visits: an increase of approximately 9.5 per cent over 2007.
There has been ongoing debate as to whether or not the current policies for funding health and education are sustainable, in light of scarce financial resources. The matter of funding the social services is always of critical importance. This is a matter that all administrations have had to grapple with. The issue is how we prioritise in the context of limited resources and how we pool our creative minds to make these priorities achievable. It is within this context I want to put forward an approach to fund both the health and education sectors.
I want to suggest that we look seriously at placing a special charge on all remittances flowing into the island. I suggest that US$1 out of every US$10 be deducted for a special fund to build and repair schools and hospitals across the island. This is likely to give the government between US$150-US$200 million annually. Currently, about US$2 billion flows into the country from remittances each year, most of which goes into consumption.
But in order to effect this special charge, a certain approach has to be adopted by the government. First, there must be dialogue between the government and the overseas "Jamerican" community about this extremely important matter. They must be consulted to get stakeholder support and to explain the rationale for such an endeavour. Such an initiative cannot be implemented without our overseas brothers and sisters, who have benefited significantly from these social services while they were resident in Jamaica, buying into the idea. These Jamaicans are unlikely to have any objections to such a noble cause once it is properly packaged and marketed to them.
The second issue is that the special charges must be backed by legislation. There must be a legislative regime to protect the use of the fund. The money collected should be used for four specific purposes: expanding and improving the physical plants of schools; expanding the capacity of the Students' Loan Bureau to respond to tertiary students; providing pharmaceutical support for hospitals and providing hospitals and health centres with modern medical equipment. The money collected must be used for the intended purposes or else there will be a stakeholder revolt. This money must not be pooled with the general Consolidated Fund.
The third issue to be considered is the administrative mechanism. A special board must be put in place to provide oversight for these funds. The board should be chaired by an overseas Jamaican who has strong ties to the country. The board should also have a representative spread of overseas Jamaicans who are able to visit the island regularly for meetings. If necessary, a special audit team of overseas Jamaicans should be allowed to audit the funds from time to time to ensure that the money collected is being used for the intended purposes.
It is my belief that if we try this approach we would generate sufficient funds to finance our education and health sectors on a sustainable basis. It is likely to generate between $13 - $18 billion annually without incurring any further growth of our national debt. From this sum of money, between $5-$8 billion would go to health and a minimum of $10 billion would go towards education. We must therefore move with alacrity to make it happen so that we can provide the best health and education system for our people and to give them the break they truly deserve.
Floyd Morris was Jamaica's first blind senator and minister of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security under the PNP administration.
morrisfloyd@gmail.com
dead before mi! 
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