Health Sector Gets Chunk of $33 Billion Budget

The health sector and social welfare are set to benefit from just over half of the newly tabled 33 billion dollar supplementary budget tabled in the parliament Tuesday, September 28.

Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke says notes the need for health-focused spend given the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and other social dilemmas. He notes the spend is possible as the economy’s again experiencing robust growth in 2021.

With Government revenues exceeding budgetary targets by just over $7 billion between April and July, this year, Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke says the first supplementary estimate recommends a 33 billion dollar increase in expenditure, while total revenues are being revised upwards by $33.5 billion for the full fiscal year.

Of this, he says some 53% or 15.6 billion dollars has been injected into the country’s health sector and towards supporting the most vulnerable under the Government’s initiative designed to respond to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Serve Jamaica Programme. He noted that

Meantime, he noted that at least 10.3 billion of this increase will be directed to the health sector, which means 1.4 billion has been earmarked to provide COVID-19 incentives for health workers in contact with COVID-19 risks.

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