Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson says more social protection and health interventions must be put in place to deal with the elderly, citing an increase in Jamaica’s elderly population.

He was speaking Sunday at the commonwealth health ministers meeting being held at the Starling hotel in Geneva, Switzerland.

He says the elderly in Jamaica constitute 11.3% of the population, an increase of 9% over the last decade.

Dr. Ferguson explained that the country is also dealing with an increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases, which tend to affect this group and responsible for about 70% of deaths in Jamaica each year.

He says this requires a re-thinking of how health systems are structured to deliver care to this group.

The minister pointed out that to this end, Jamaica is taking steps to achieve universal health coverage and universal access to health.

The commonwealth health ministers meeting is being held under the theme “universal health coverage with an emphasis on ageing and good health.”