Pharmaceutical giant Bioprist has pledged $1 million in educational support to every child of a St James police officer who is studying medicine and able to maintain a very good grade-point average (GPA).
The pledge was made by Founder and Chief Executive officer (CEO), Dr.Guna Muppuri, at a St. James Police awards dinner, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St James, on February 18.
Muppuri, guest speaker at the function, said his company is now ready to empower the next generation with medical examinations, adding that the Bioprist Group is going to change the landscape of offshore medical schools by building a state-of-the-art facility in Ironshore, St James.
“We owe you and your beloved family members our gratitude, respect, and support. It’s against this background why we are making this pledge… to invest in education,” he said.
“Your mom, dad, brother, and sister go to work every day, unsure of their safe return home. They place their lives on the line to protect us, and we owe it to their families to acknowledge their sacrifices,” Muppuri added.
He further reminded of his long association with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), “from my time in Kingston in 1992,” where he worked at the Kingston Public Hospital and Bellevue, as well as in Lucea, Hanover.
“These [stints] are etched in my memory… . Even to this day, I take my relationship with the JCF very seriously,” he said.
Muppuri, in the meantime, said it is also important to remember the value of having healthy police officers, that not only is it critical to building healthy and safe communities but also for their mental and psychological health.
“For law-enforcement officers to be effective in keeping our country and our communities safe from crime and violence, we must ensure their health is taken care of,” he added.
The Bioprist Group is centred around pharmaceuticals and healthcare consumer products and development of Special Economic Zones.
In 2021, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of the West Indies (UWI) to commit to the training of healthcare practitioners and the development of medical-tourism-related activities.
“The global market for medical education is strong and the market for medical tourism is also exhibiting excellent growth. It is our commitment to substantially advance Jamaica’s medical education and medical tourism in the global market,” Muppuri said.
