Health Ministry suspends Yute Chatz service because it promotes deviant sexual behavior among children | News

The Ministry of Health suspends the chatline “Yute Expressions Yute Chatz” due to concerns about the provision of sexual and reproductive health advice to children.

In a press release on Monday, the ministry said it had noted the concerns raised by the public and was assessing them in relation to the health and family policies of the Government of Jamaica.

It said the service would be suspended in the meantime while the evaluations are carried out.

A leaflet distributed by the Love March movement claimed that the Ministry of Health was promoting “deviant sexual behaviour” among children through the Yute Chatz app.

The app was said to support the idea that “gender is a personal choice and not a biological reality,” to promote LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) ideologies, and to direct children to seek advice from a local gay rights group.

In its press release today, the Ministry explained that Yute Chatz by Yute Expression 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.

It stated that in addition to the measures under the public sector transformation programme and the decisions to rationalise public bodies, the NFPB will also be integrated as a department of the ministry.

The ministry said that as part of the integration process, it would review all NFPB programs and activities to determine how they could be implemented as part of the central ministry.

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