By Ministry of Health
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The ministry of health and wellness has noted the concerns raised by members of the public in relation to the use of the Yute Expression’s Yute Chatz chat line and is assessing the concerns as they relate to the Health and Family Life Policy of the government of Jamaica.
In the interim, while the assessments are being conducted, the service will be suspended.
Yute Expression’s Yute Chatz is a chatbot launched by the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) in collaboration with UNICEF and U-Report Jamaica, and has been operational since January 2024.
The ministry of health and wellness, further to the actions related to the public sector transformation programme and the decisions related to the rationalisation of public bodies, will be integrating the NFPB as a division of the ministry.
The agency is currently a public body and operates under the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act (2001). The integration actions are being finalised and the agency will be wound up as at July 31, 2024 – the effective date of the NFPB Repeal Act, which was tabled in 2023.
As part of the process of integration, the ministry will review all programmes and activities of the NFPB to determine how they will be implemented as part of the central ministry.