Jamaica is the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean. The island is divided in three counties and further subdivided into fourteen parishes. Kingston is both a parish and the capital city.
Health in the Americas shows the following about Jamaica’s health profile based on data updated in 2023:
- Population of 2 825 544
- Life expectancy at birth was 72.4 years
- People over 65 years of age accounted for 7.8% of the total population
PAHO’s strategic health priorities for Jamaica are outlined in the organization’s Country Cooperation Strategy (2017 -2022); they include:
- The resilience of health systems strengthened within the framework of universal health
- An inclusive healthy lifestyle approach to address the health needs of the population advanced
- An integrated approach to address the social and economic determinants of health and health equity in support of sustainable development promoted
- The environment determinants addressed to build resilient communities
Similarly, the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ key priorities are included within their Vision 2030 for Health (2019 -2030). The high impact goals outlined in the strategic plan are as follows:
- Ensure a safe and a healthy start for newborns and infants
- Improve the health of the population with an emphasis on reducing mortality, morbidity and disability related to NCDs and their risk factors
- Reduce mortality, morbidity and disability due to communicable diseases
- Reduce mortality, morbidity and disability due to poor quality of health care
- Eliminate priority communicable diseases, including AIDS, tuberculosis, mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and congenital syphilis
- Eliminate neglected infectious diseases as public health problems
- Reduce the number of cases of death, disability and illness, with emphasis on protection of the poor and vulnerable populations affected by emergencies and disasters
Jamaica’s estimated population in 2019 was 2.9 million with a median age of 30 years.