Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has announced the integration of the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) and the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) into the health ministry.

Tufton, who made this announcement in Parliament on Tuesday, July 18, said that the functions, rights and liabilities of both entities will be transferred to the health ministry.

“The National Family Board will be integrated into the ministry as a division called the National Family Planning Services Madam Speaker, while the National Council on Drug Abuse will become a department of the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” Tufton explained.

He said that the National Family Planning Services Division will be mandated to empower and engage individuals, communities and families, especially the most vulnerable populations.

“Madam Speaker, the National Family Planning Services Division will seek to strategically adopt key constructs of social determinants of heath, the people-centred approach and the social ecological model to expand the national health response. Its goal will be to advance a people-centred approach towards the achievement of sustainable health outcomes among the most vulnerable populations,”

DR CHRISTOPHER TUFTON, MINISTER OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS

The services by the NCDA, on the other hand, will be expanded to include mental health along with its core functions to provide Jamaicans with drug prevention and treatment services.

Tufton stressed that this merger will result in greater efficiency in the services offered by the entities while reducing the duplication of efforts.