Petrojam is pumping over 20,000 litres of fuel to generate electricity for the Savanna-la-Mar field hospital in Westmoreland.

 The major initiative, which got underway in December 2025 – days after the field hospital was erected – has so far delivered almost 800 hours of continuous supply of electricity to the healthcare facility. 

Located on the grounds of the Savanna la Mar Hospital, which was devastated by Hurricane Melissa in October and has been without electricity, the makeshift hospital is staffed by a dedicated team of local medics and a contingent from the Barbados Defence Force who erected the facility – a gift to Jamaica from the government of Barbados. 

In welcoming the initiative, Dr. Suman Vemu, Senior Medical Officer for the Savanna la Mar Hospital, remarked, “Through this vital fuel lifeline, we have been able to deliver critical medical services to the people of Westmoreland and surrounding parishes at a time when they need it most,” he commented. “Through timely deliveries of fuel from Petrojam, we have been able to schedule operations and offer other health services, knowing that we have a reliable power supply to support continuity of care to some of our most vulnerable communities. Our team is extremely grateful to Petrojam for this life-saving effort,” he added.

Emergency Medical Team Commander of the Barbados Defence Force, Anderson Goodridge, noted that the fuel donation ensured the continuous functioning of essential medical equipment, transportation, and power generation, allowing his team of volunteers to provide uninterrupted medical care to affected communities. He shared, “The Barbados Defence Force extends sincere thanks to Petrojam for its timely support, which significantly enhanced the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance efforts and demonstrated strong regional cooperation during a time of need.”

For Petrojam, there is a need for a proactive and supportive approach that endures the early aftermath of the disaster: “Mobilising fuel support for the Savanna la Mar field hospital underscores our major commitment to serving Jamaica’s energy needs through the good times and the bad. It is also an important plank of the values we live by, ” said Telroy Morgan, General Manager of Petrojam. He continued, “By working closely with the hospital administration and volunteers from Barbados, we’re not only responding to the immediate healthcare needs of the people, but we’re also reimagining sustainability in emergency response.”

In addition to the refuelling initiative, since the passage of Hurricane Melissa, Petrojam has provided logistics support to US-based charity Fuel Relief Fund, aiding with their distribution of emergency supplies of gasoline and cooking gas to the Falmouth Field Hospital in Trelawny, and several communities in the parishes of St. James and Westmoreland.