In response to the great demand for hand sanitize sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, students in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of the West Indies Mona campus are producing the product with the help and support of the National Health Fund. The students are making the hand sanitizer for distribution locally in Jamaica.

Jamaica’s National Health Fund is designed to give residents access to medication in public and private health care sectors via provision of the NHF Card and the Jamaica Drug for the Elderly Program Card. It also administers the Government of Jamaica Health Card. The agency also handles the delivery of in-patient and out-patient pharmacy services in the public sector.

Its sources of revenue are as follows:  20% of Special Consumption Tax charged on Tobacco Products; 5% of Special Consumption Tax collected; and 5% of annual earnings up to $ 500K paid by employee and employer, collected by the NIS. Funds from the GOJ Budget are provided for procuring, warehousing and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical sundries and dispensing medications to patients.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) was originally known as the College of the West Indies. It is a public university system that, at its beginnings, was established to serve the Caribbean nations as an independent college of the University of London. The Mona campus in Kingston, Jamaica, serves as headquarters of the UWI system.

The fully accredited University of the West Indies (UWI) takes pride in being a progressive and environmentally positive campus. It offers a world-class education to Jamaicans as well as to individuals from throughout the Caribbean region and the world.  The university is engaged in research development seeking to support social and economic growth in the Caribbean and works to provide enriching academic experiences for its students.

The Doctor of Pharmacology program at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus provides its students with the skills required to practice effective pharmaceutical care to their patients. Students can focus on practice skills in the areas of community pharmacy, hospital and institutional pharmacy, internal medicine, ambulatory care, pharmaceutical sales and marketing, industrial pharmacy, compounding pharmacy, and many others.

Information and Photo Source: UWI Twitter