Jamaica launches disaster-resilient immunization registry reaching 135,000 people

What is the background?

Jamaica’s health centres tracked most childhood and adult vaccinations on paper before 2025. That approach left records vulnerable to loss, damage, and delay whenever a clinic flooded or lost power. In October 2025, Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica directly, damaging health facilities and destroying paper patient records across several parishes. The storm exposed how much the health system depended on physical files that a single disaster could wipe out overnight.

What happened?

On 11 December 2025, Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness received hardware to launch a pilot Electronic Immunization Registry at a ceremony held at St Ann’s Bay Health Centre in St Ann. The pilot now runs across 18 project sites around the island, including two private health facilities, and is expected to benefit about 135,000 people. Health workers can enter vaccination data in real time at the point of care instead of writing it into paper logbooks. Records are then stored in secure, disaster-resilient data centres rather than filing cabinets that flooding or high winds can destroy.

How did it happen?

Canada’s CanGIVE initiative funded the project with USD 2.3 million (CAD 3.24 million), and the Pan American Health Organization provided technical assistance covering system design, monitoring, evaluation, risk management, and communications. The equipment handed over on 11 December, worth roughly USD 719,000, included tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and printers, plus a Tier 3 data centre setup with primary servers in Kingston and backup servers in Mandeville so records survive even if one site goes offline. Between 2024 and 2025, more than 150 Ministry of Health and Wellness staff completed training on strengthened vaccination delivery and revised national immunization field guidelines, preparing them to use the new system from day one.

Why does it matter?

Digitised, disaster-resilient records mean a family does not lose proof of a child’s vaccinations if a hurricane damages their local clinic. Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said digitised record retrieval “is a big benefit for business, for personal reasons and, indeed, for health reasons.” Real-time data also lets health workers spot coverage gaps in specific communities and respond quickly, rather than waiting months for paper tallies to reach a central office.

What were the key results?

• 18 Electronic Immunization Registry pilot sites launched across Jamaica, including two private facilities
• About 135,000 people expected to benefit from real-time digital vaccination records
• USD 2.3 million (CAD 3.24 million) in funding from Canada’s CanGIVE initiative
• Equipment worth roughly USD 719,000 handed over on 11 December 2025
• Tier 3 data centres built with primary servers in Kingston and backup servers in Mandeville
• More than 150 Ministry of Health and Wellness staff trained in 2024–2025

What happens next?

The Ministry of Health and Wellness and PAHO plan to evaluate results from the 18 pilot sites before deciding how to expand the registry nationwide. Further training rounds are expected as more health centres come online. PAHO said it will keep supporting monitoring and risk-management systems so the registry stays resilient through future storms. Officials also expect the digital records to make it easier for residents who are travelling or changing clinics to retrieve proof of past vaccinations.