Errol Shand (left), who recently received a new motorised wheelchair from Food For The Poor, speaks with the charity's Director of Health Care, Susan Moore. Shand, 50, operates a craft business and has been wheelchair-mobile since 1981. - Contributed

Jamaica leads 17 other Latin American and Caribbean locations as the country that receives the lion's share of health-care donations from the international charity, Food For The Poor (FFP).

Last year, FFP shipped 625.5 tractor-trailer loads of medicines and medical supplies to help care for the sick, with 144 tractor-trailers worth about J$7.1 billion being devoted to Jamaica.

FFP's 2008 health-care interven-tions in Jamaica are part of its health-care programmes throughout 17 Caribbean and Latin American countries valued in excess of US$1 billion last year.

Assisting most vulnerable

The tremendous impact of FFP's donation of medicines and medical supplies, together with its services of free clinics, surgeries and health fairs throughout the island, is now gaining increasing attention from local medical professionals and health-care beneficiaries.

"Food For The Poor's medical programme aims to improve public health and assist in making health care accessible to the poor in Jamaica," said the entity's chief operations officer in Jamaica, Roman Catholic Deacon Ron Burgess.

Burgess added that, "Food For the Poor sources and receives medical equipment, supplies and pharma-ceuticals which are primarily distributed to public hospitals, health centres, non-governmental organisa-tions such as Missionaries of the Poor, Mustard Seed Communities, Salvation Army, senior citizens' homes, schools, churches, infirmaries and other entities that assist the most vulnerable in society."

Privilege and duty

Susan Moore has been director of health care with Food For The Poor Jamaica since January 2008. Conscious of the great need that exists amid resource constraints facing the government and non-governmental organisations, she continues to steer FFP's increasing interventions in health-care delivery.

"Not everyone can access proper health care and, as an organisation that caters to the poorest of the poor, we deem it both a privilege and a duty to ensure that those persons get the proper health-care attention they need," Moore said.

Many of FFP's health-care services are offered through partnerships with several private medical facilities, including Apex Medical, the Foundation for International Self-Help Development (FISH) and Biomedical Laboratory. In return for donations of equipment and supplies from FFP, these institutions treat patients referred by the charity free of cost.

Sticking to regulations

Among the medical supplies sourced and distributed by FFP are hospital beds, examination tables, wheelchairs, surgical equipment and a wide range of medical sundries.

In order to ensure that the policies and standards of the Ministry of Health are strictly observed as it relates to the distribution and management of prescription drugs, FFP Jamaica employs a full-time trained pharmacist. Working closely with FFP Jamaica's parent body, Florida-based Food for the Poor Inc, the pharmacist is responsible for the sourcing and distribution of drugs based on a needs list from the Jamaica office.

In 2008, FFP Jamaica was able, with help from its overseas donors, to hand over more than J$800 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs to the Ministry of Health for distribution to government-run hospitals, clinics, health centres and nursing homes across the island. Among the items donated were pain killers, antibiotics, anti-allergy, anti-glaucoma, anti-fungal, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory medication; iron and vitamins supplements, flu, cold, cough and skin medicines; as well as drugs to treat high cholesterol, cancer and glaucoma.

Filling the gap

For more than six years, FFP has sponsored a physiotherapy pro-gramme at the Golden Age Home in Kingston, where it has also operated the Christian Care senior citizens' nursing residence since 2003.

Since 2004, FFP has also operated the Our Lady of the Poor Clinic at St Joseph's Hospital in Kingston, providing primary health-care services to the poor. With a staff of two doctors, three nurses and two support workers, the facility provides treatment and care Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 7 a.m.and 3 p.m. Last year, the clinic served 10,161 people.

Food For The Poor is also dedicated to providing wheelchairs to those who need them. Over the years, scores of needy individuals have been assisted with manual, motorised and specialised wheelchairs. Many of the wheelchairs have been distributed through institutions such as the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Rural Services for Persons with Disabilities and Portmore Self Help.

In February this year, FFP donated 30 custom-fitted wheelchairs, valued at J$10.6 million to Mustard Seed Communities. In July last year, FFP distributed 59 motorised wheelchairs valued at J$8.2 million to persons with disabilities through its St Joseph's Hospital-based clinic.

'Not everyone can access proper health care and, as an organisation that caters to the poorest of the poor, we deem it both a privilege and a duty to ensure that those persons get the proper health-care attention they need.'

Susan Moore

Director of Health Care

Food For The Poor Jamaica