Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

At left Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, chief medical officer, speaks with Dr Christopher Tufton (centre), minister of health and wellness, and crewmembers of the Ark Silk Road, a Chinese Navy hospital.
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Chinese medical ship to assist in clearing surgery backlog across all health regions

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica’s chief medical officer, Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, says the arrival of China’s state-of-the-art medical ship could not have come at a more critical moment, describing it…
Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon (right) and vice-president of the Fujian Association of Jamaica, Yansen Li, at the handing over of Hurricane Melissa relief supplies by Chinese business communities in Montego Bay and Trinidad on Thursday.
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

J’can, Trindidadian Chinese communities partner to step up relief

WESTERN BUREAU: The Chinese community in Montego Bay, St James, has joined forces with the Trinidad and Tobago Chinese Chamber of Commerce to deliver humanitarian aid to residents still reeling from…
Chybar
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Westmoreland wipeout

WESTERN BUREAU: Westmoreland is on the brink of an economic collapse, with the parish’s smallest businesses – the micro enterprises that employ hundreds and fuel daily commercial life – “pretty much…
The new Little London Police Station in Westmoreland.
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Little London Police Station boosts safety, dignity for officers

WESTERN BUREAU After years in a cramped space under threat of eviction, police in Little London have moved into a modern station that leaders call a turning point for security and public trust in…
Far left, Jackie Josephs Haughton, board member of Manning’s Past Students Association York Chapter, presenting care packages to the students at Manning’s School
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Diaspora group delivers relief to Manning’s School

WESTERN BUREAU When Hurricane Melissa tore through western Jamaica, destroying homes, schools and livelihoods, the Manning’s School Past Students’ Association, New York Chapter (MPSA NY), moved…
Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Dalrymple-Philibert: No Jamaican will be denied access to justice despite hurricane damage

WESTERN BUREAU: State Minister Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert has vowed that no Jamaican will be denied access to justice despite Hurricane Melissa’s crippling blow, which damaged courthouses and justice…
Sergeant Arleen McBean, chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation.
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

$40m relief fund activated for storm-hit cops

WESTERN BUREAU: The management committee of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Welfare Fund has activated a $40-million humanitarian allocation to assist police officers whose homes and families…
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton (centre), is guided on a tour of the Barbados Field Hospital in Westmoreland by Barbados Defence Force Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Leader, Lieutenant Commander Anderson Goodridge, and Clinical Medical
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

No cholera detected

WESTERN BUREAU: Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica has no confirmed cholera cases after Hurricane Melissa, though leptospirosis has surfaced in several parishes,…
From left: St Andrae Sinclair, regional director, Western Regional Health Authority; Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness; Lt Comm Anderson Goodridge, commander of the Barbados emergency medical team; and Captain Dr Ayana Crichlow, clini
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Westmoreland field hospital to open this week

WESTERN BUREAU: The country’s third field hospital – a Type 2 full-service medical facility gifted by Barbados – will be fully operational before the end of this week on the grounds of the…