Jamaica to play friendly with Haiti

JAMAICA AND Haiti will play two friendly football matches as a goodwill gesture following allegations of ill-treatment to Haiti's under-17 footballers last week, after local doctors discovered malaria among some team members.

The Haitian team was forced to withdraw from the CONCACAF championships being staged in Montego Bay when three players tested positive for malaria, resulting in health officials quarantining the rest of the team as a precautionary measure.

This action brought strong condemnation by some Haitians who saw it as an act of discrimination.

Health Minister Rudyard Spencer, in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, said both Jamaican and Haitian officials had held talks on Monday to resolve what Spencer described as a misunderstanding on the country's health policy.

Spencer noted that proper protocols were observed regarding the treatment of the Haitian team, after malaria was diagnosed among some of its members.

Deep regret

He added that the Government deeply regretted the circumstances which necessitated the withdrawal of the Haitian team from the CONCACAF tournament.

"Jamaica is obliged to maintain heightened surveillance against malaria since the Anopheles mosquito, by which it is transmitted, is endemic to Jamaica, and there's a real danger of the disease if the parasite is introduced among the population," Spencer said.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who expressed regret on the sensationalisation of the issue in Haiti, which he attributed to misunderstandings from language differences, said he had assured President Rene Preval during discussions that Jamaica had done everything possible to stem the spread of the disease.

Golding told the Lower House that president Preval was also advised that Jamaica had been malaria free for more than 40 years, hence the precautions taken.

phillip.hamilton@gleanerjm.com