Two years ago, as it struggled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and get people vaccinated, the Government of Jamaica turned to private health care providers for help. The results went well beyond its expectations.

This report documents a rapid assessment of the Honduran context to expand SHP for women and children in high-migration contexts, including women and children at risk of migration, returned migrants from the United States, and migrants in-transit through Honduran territories on their migration journey.

With a grant from LHSS, the Jamaican health care firm Online Medics is supporting the government’s COVID-19 vaccination effort while gaining valuable new business capacities. “LHSS allowed me to think in the long term – where I wanted my company to go and what I need to do to get it there,” says owner Alex Tracey.

LHSS conducted a desk review to inform understanding of the Honduran context for expanding social health protection to women at risk of migration, as well as other vulnerable populations.

LHSS conducted a desk review to inform understanding of the Honduran context for expanding social health protection to women at risk of migration, as well as other vulnerable populations. 

The purpose of the assessment, conducted in 2021 by Two Oceans in Health for the LHSS Latin America and Caribbean Activity, was to understand the Dominican Republic context for expanding social health protection to migrant women.

This communications strategy outlines how the LHSS team will support the private sector providers in implementing their communication plans.

The LHSS Jamaica Grants Strategy guides implementation of the grants-under-contract component of the LHSS Jamaica activity, with the goal of increasing the capacity of local organizations to prepare, obtain, and manage successful health systems strengthening projects and activities.  

LHSS conducted this rapid assessment to better understand the current and potential role of the private health sector in Jamaica's COVID-19 response.

Since vaccines became available in 2021, only 26 percent of Jamaicans have been vaccinated – a far cry from the country’s goal of 65 percent by March 2022. Religious communities were among the victims of the misinformation causing vaccine hesitancy, with many of the country’s Christians believing the vaccines represented “the mark of the beast.” In response, the government called on church leaders to play a more prominent role in the country’s vaccination effort.

LHSS provides technical assistance to the Dominican Republic, and this five-year roadmap outlines a strategic vision, objectives, and initiatives for reaching the final milestone of expanded insurance and standardized health service packages for migrant women residing in or transiting through the Dominican Republic.

LHSS activity in the Dominican Republic during its first year of implementation and detailed steps to pilot initiatives that aim to improve SHP for migrants (including women) in the Dominican Republic

This landscape analysis report on Social Health Protection for Women in High-Migration Contexts provides LHSS-LAC, USAID, national governments, regional stakeholders, and other development partners with an inventory of country experiences and strategies for improving access to social health protection (SHP) for women migrants and women at risk of migration.

On Friday, February 25, LHSS Jamaica hosted a signing ceremony with the Jamaica Ministry of Health and Wellness and USAID to launch the Private Sector COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Partnership.

For countries facing a large influx of migrants, the best way to ensure that these new members of society have sustained access to essential health services is to have a long-term strategy – one that builds on existing health platforms.