Health Min declares that Guyana better prepared for eventuality of future pandemics

The systems government has put in place that will enable the country to be better prepared for future pandemics, if any arises were outlined by Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, M.P, on Monday. 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.

“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 disclosed during Monday’s COVID-19 update. Minister Anthony disclosed 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.

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

However, strengthening the cold chain system is another project that will be closely monitored by the government. Dr. Anthony noted that 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,” the minister assured.

The health minister 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. Minister Anthony added that since the pandemic is not over in Guyana or around the world, he is reminding citizens to be responsible, to take necessary precautions in crowded areas and protect themselves against the deadly disease.