Jamaicans in Canada to host health summit

Dr. Upton Allen

Jamaicans in Canada will host a post-pandemic, face-to-face Health Summit under the Theme Championing Healthcare: Collaboration for a Healthier Jamaica.

The Summit will be held at George Brown College Waterfront Campus, from August 29 to 31, 2022 and will be led by the Jamaica Diaspora Health Taskforce. Fay Lim-Lambie, Dean of Centre for Health Sciences and Centre for Community Services & Early Childhood, George Brown College, will be the event’s patron.

Keynote Speaker for the Summit is Dr. Upton Allen, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto. Allen is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto as well as a Senior Associate Scientist in the Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, UK.   In 2021, he was honored with the appointment as Commander, Order of Distinction, Jamaica. Dr. Allen leads research studies addressing different aspects of COVID-19, including but not limited to, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among African Canadians.

Topics will include Advancement in Healthcare; Surveillance and Data Management; Oral and Dental Health Professional Ethics; Mental Health; Aging and Wellness; Sickle Cell and Pain Management; Emerging Healthcare Challenges; Vision Care; Adoption of Technology as a post COVID response strategy and Inter-sectoral Collaboration across health professionals.

“I am pleased to endorse the Health Summit for 2022. This is an important occasion as healthcare professional and partners of public health gather for knowledge sharing and adopting to the new normal. The Jamaican Government has accepted that delivering appropriate care to the majority of the population now requires a paradigm shift from episodic, short-term interventions to long-term, comprehensive integrated care for those with continuing care needs,” said Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health & Wellness, Jamaica.

Dr. Sylvanus Thompson

Dr.  Sylvanus Thompson, Chair of the Canadian Secretariat for the Summit added that “this summit, the second, of its kind for JDTAN in 2022, will focus on relevant aspects of healthcare for Jamaica based on assessed needs through panel discussions and presentations.  We are happy to open this opportunity to our Jamaican healthcare professionals which will see a number of them in attendance.”

JDTAN is a network of more than 2200 Jamaicans from across 46 countries that have delivered more than 400 hundred capacity building workshops, presentations and panel discussions in the last two years, to professionals in Jamaica.   More information on JDTAN can be found our websites: jdtan.org 

For more information, please contact Dr. Sylvanus Thompson JDTANSummit@gmail.com