Guyana Better Prepared For Eventuality Of Future Pandemics, Says Health Minister

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Tuesday, May 10, 2002) — Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, yesterday, outlined the systems the government has put in place, that will enable the country to be better prepared for future pandemics, if any arises.

The Minister said the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge, both in treating infected patients, and the storage of vaccines and medical supplies. However, most of those challenges were addressed, through Guyana’s partnering with international and local organisations.

During Monday’s COVID-19 update, the minister noted that, “Moving forward, what we have done, and what we’re working on is, how to better strengthen our surveillance system, so we can have pretty much like an early-warning system, where, if there’s anything happening, we’ll be able to detect it early; and, having that information early, we’ll then be able to take the necessary measures, in terms of limiting the spread of the disease.”

Dr. Anthony added that developing laboratory capacity, at a regional level, is also a priority of the ministry, as PCR has played a significant role in testing for the disease.

Also, regional hospitals, across the country, will be equipped and upgraded to treat and manage infectious diseases.

“Building hospital infrastructure, where we are capable of managing infectious disease patients, is important; and that capacity doesn’t have to be only in Georgetown. We have to have this capacity at the regional level as well.

“And so, the infrastructural works that we are doing at our various regional hospitals, we’ll have to cater for patients with infectious diseases,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, strengthening the cold chain system is another project that will be closely monitored by the government. The health minister said this was improved during the pandemic, as Guyana did not have the capacity to store the COVID-19 vaccines.

“Additionally, we’ll have to work on strengthening our human resource capacity…we’ll have to do much more training, have more people trained in the area of infectious disease and its management,” Minister Anthony stated.

He assured the public that even with the capacity, built during the pandemic, this will not be “static”, since the government intends to continue developing all areas in the health sector for better care, treatment and management of diseases.

Further, since the pandemic is not over in Guyana, or around the world, Dr. Anthony reminded citizens to be responsible, to take necessary precautions in crowded areas and protect themselves against the deadly disease.