-PPEs to be dispatched to regions
Guyana’s fight against COVID-19 was today boosted with a donation of critical items from the Government of Canada through a partnership with the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).
Ministry of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony received the donation of personal protective equipment (PPEs), including a quantity of face shields, masks and goggles, isolation gowns.
They were presented by Canadian High Commissioner, H.E Mark Berman, Operations Officer at the World Bank, Mr. Hubert Forrester and PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. Luis Felipe Codina.
Dr. Anthony said the donation will protect frontline health workers and citizens as the pandemic prevails.
“What we are looking at is using the donations we have received and getting it out as fast as possible to our health workers so that they can get busy with the job of preventing COVID-19 infections….”
The PPEs were purchased through a CAN$5 million grant from the Government of Canada, through PAHO’s preparedness, Research and Response Initiative for Caribbean countries.
The Minister said the funding has greatly enhanced Guyana’s Covid response efforts across the country.
“These grants have started working from since September last year and what we see around us today represent just a small part of what we have been able to buy with these monies.
And as fast as we get those things, we have been sending them out to different regions.”
The Government was also able to acquire an oxygen concentrator for patients in rural communities in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
“On behalf of the Government of Guyana, we would like to thank the Government and People of Canada and of course, the World Bank for the financing that allowed us to procure these things. Apart from the PPEs another area that we have looked at was how do we ensure that patients who are coming in to the hospitals would have things like enough oxygen…
In the rural hospitals, the ones in Region One, Seven, Eight and Nine, it is a challenge to move cylinders of oxygen from Georgetown to those communities, you can imagine what the logistics would be like to get oxygen to those communities.”
As such, the Minister said he was particularly grateful that PAHO was able to obtain the oxygen concentrator for Guyana.
“What that does is to take ordinary air, separate out nitrogen from the ordinary air so what remains is a concentrated amount of oxygen so what goes to the patient would be about 90 to 95 per cent of oxygen,” he explained.
Meanwhile, High Commissioner Berman said his country remains committed to supporting Guyana’s fight against Covid.
“Canada is very much committed to doing everything we can to assist in challenging times. We are providing these lifesaving assistances in the Region through PAHO and we are very pleased to partner with PAHO and others.
We see PAHO as reliable and trusty partner for all of us in this time of crisis and we know that it will work constructively with the Government of Guyana to ensure the benefits of the Canadian support maximised,” he said.
Additionally, the World Bank representative said its Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility is one of the many responses to support countries that are encountering challenges due to the pandemic. Mr. Forrester said Guyana has received a cash grant of up to US$1 million with the support of partners such as PAHO and Global Affairs Canada.
The PAHO/WHO country representative also extended gratitude to the Canadian Government and the World Bank for supporting the PAHO initiative. Dr. Codina said the Preparedness, Research and Response Initiative provides much needed support to COVID-19 relief efforts.