PUBLIC NOTICE: TEMPORARY CLOSURE AND RELOCATION OF

LAURA HEALTH CENTER

Majuro, MH – The Ministry of Health and Human Services is issuing a public notice, particularly to the residents of Laura to Ajeltake, regarding the temporary closure and relocation of the Laura Health Center to Woja Health Center.

Following a recent assessment, it has been determined that Laura Health Center requires urgent renovation due to safety concerns. The assessment revealed hazardous conditions, notably electrical wires suspending from the ceilings, rendering the Center unsafe for patient visits. As a result, Laura Health Center will be partially closed effective February 26th, 2024, to facilitate immediate restoration efforts. While the health center will remain operational, services will be limited exclusively to Public Health Services, including vaccinations, medication replenishment, and physical examinations. During this period, all emergency and acute care services will be redirected to Woja Health Center. The Center will be fully operational to serve the public, with the ambulance service available round-the-clock for any emergencies.

Woja Health Center operational hours are from Monday to Sunday, 8:00 am to 12:00 am. Nurse Practitioners and Nurses will be on-call duty from 12:00 am to 8:00 am to address any medical concerns. For inquiries and further information, please contact the Ministry of Health and Human Services at 625-3399, or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via our social media platforms.

Emergency contact numbers for on-call Nurse Practitioners and Nurses:
• 456-2565
• 455-2305
• 456-2394

The Ministry of Health and Human Services assures the public that every effort is being made to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services during this transition period. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

//END//

As of 5/11/2023, the existing Covid-19 travel requirements to enter the RMI, have been lifted.

This decision takes into careful consideration the global, regional, and national Covid-19 epidemiology, vaccination coverage, capacity to respond to future outbreaks as well as positional statements of the WHO and CDC.

The WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement released on May 5th, 2023, stated that Covid-19 no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern but now has become an established health issue. This does not mean that Covid-19 is no longer a threat to human lives, but most countries are now in a better position to deal with this condition through widespread uptake of immunization and have mechanisms in place to prevent and respond to future outbreaks as well as epidemiological trends of very low rates of infection, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Similarly, the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces that as of 5/12/2023, all non-citizens travelling into the US will no longer need to present proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

The public is advised of their need to continue to ensure their Covid-19 immunizations remain updated in accordance with MoHHS, WHO and CDC recommendations.

Press Release

20 October 2023
Majuro, Marshall Islands

On October 6, 2023, Recognizing the high rates of cervical cancer in the RMI, the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Honorable Minister Ota Kisino and Secretary Francyne Wase-Jacklick, together signed the Cervical Cancer Elimination Policy and Strategy framework at Majuro International Conference Center (ICC). Event was organized by the MOHHS Cancer Prevention Program after the presentation and validation of the policy during the 34th Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI) Conference.

This serves to build upon a National Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan 2022 - 2023, that is aligned with recent developments in cervical cancer prevention, screening, management, and treatment. With Marshall Islands being known to have the highest incident of cervical cancer called Human Papillomavirus (HPV) affecting women in their late 30s to early 40s in the world, the document outlines a vision for the elimination of cervical cancer in the Marshall Islands and set of strategies and actions to move toward the elimination of new diagnoses of cervical cancer, including vaccination of girls and boys, screening of women for HPV, treatment for HPV positive, and management of those women with cervical cancer.

According to National Cancer Registry (MHHS, 2022) reported between the year 2017 – 2021 there were61 women diagnosed with cervical cancer over five-year period. This includes 12 cases in 2017, 9 cases in 2018, 11 cases in 2019, 14 cases in 2020, and 15 cases in 2021. Of these cases the youngest woman diagnosed with aged 27 and the oldest was aged 69, and the average age of diagnosis was aged 47.

Therefore, the Cervical Cancer Elimination Policy and Strategy is in coalition with national policy frameworks, to provide roadmap for progress of national priorities in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, with the goal plan of “healthy lives and well-being of all ages” and objective as “Strengthened response and resilience to communicable disease, environmental health, and health emergency preparedness and “Provision of quality health care infrastructure, especially cancer care for all Marshallese”.

---END---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2023

On July 23, 2023, a social post was shared on Kewan Jela a private group on
Facebook, purportedly stating that Medical Referral patients from the RMI seeking medical
assistance in St. Luke’s Philippines are being kicked out of the hospital due to overdue debt in PI.


The Ministry of Health and Human Services (MoHHS) would like to inform the public and to
plainly state that the claims on social media are misleading and FALSE. The Ministry can
confirm that NO patient was kicked out of the hospital after surgery.
We would like to clarify that there are different degrees of complexity of surgeries, and this
helps in determining the type and extent of post-surgical care and support that is provided to
such people. While some surgeries can be simple and straightforward with the patient being
discharged early, others can be more complex thus requiring continued monitoring and
follow-up appointments. The MoHHS has always ensured that any medical referral patient to
any country receives optimal care and support as needed and entitled to.
With regards to allegations MoHHS’ ‘indebtedness’ as captured in the social media post; we
would like to place on record that there could be times when the Ministry could delay in
settling outstanding balances, but these are often cleared quickly after vetting any claims it
receives. Thus, MOHHS would like to emphatically state that no patient needing medical
care will be neglected at St. Luke’s hospital or anywhere for that matter on grounds of
payment of bills.


Also, on the issue of stipend for patients and their caregivers or escorts, we want to indicate
that it is another misinformation intended to mislead the public. Patients and their escorts are
entitled to stipends which are often provided weekly. It must however be clarified that where
a patient is on admission, his accumulated stipend is paid in bulk immediately upon their
discharge. This helps ensuring they do not receive their entitlements piecemeal. The patient’s
escort nonetheless receives their stipend weekly.


It is very unfortunate that some people resort to generating and sharing misinformation. We
do more harm than good to our community.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services implores persons who may need clarification on
any issues to reach out to verify and validate the information before resorting to publication
on traditional or social media. The Ministry’s doors remain open.

27 th August 2023

On June 16th, 2023, the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an update COVID-19 vaccines for use for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) causing COVID-19 disease. As of July 17th, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided updates on the current COVID-19 vaccines schedules for guidance on being up to date for ages 6 months to 4 years, 5 years, 6 years through to 50 years (recommendations for 50 years due to Republic of Marshall Islands [RMIs] Population setting with co-morbidity complications at this age group), and individuals with moderately or severely immunocompromised systems (individuals with cancer, immunosuppressant conditions, autoimmune diseases and recommendations to be inclusive of individuals with diabetes due to RMIs behavioral setting for management of diabetes) . Definition of the term Updated vaccines is sometimes called “bivalent vaccines”. The updated vaccines are called “updated” because they protect against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. The two COVID_19 vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, have developed updated COVID19 vaccines . The RMI Ministry of Health and Human Services Vaccine taskforce convened a meeting on August 22nd , 2023, and endorsed the recommendations and the necessary amendments stated below.

The communities are encouraged to ensure all children and the elderly receive their Up-to-Date COVID-19 vaccines, which are safe and effective in preventing severity of illness due to COVID-19.