Joint medical outreach for Region One

The United States Embassy, in collaboration with several other key players, today announced a Medical Outreach initiative that is expected to impact nearly 2,000 people in Region 1.

In a brief press conference held at the Bookland Gardens on Wednesday, Embassy officials detailed the outreach that is scheduled to be conducted from August 2-6, as an outreach that is much needed in the target communities of Mabaruma and Port Kaituma.

Collaborating with the United States Embassy and the Ministry of Health are several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that have pledged their support to the initiative, such as the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), Guyana Medical Relief (GMR), and the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann Lynch, in her comments at the briefing, expressed her gratitude to the government and the NGOs for coming together to ensure that the initiative will be a success.

“The upcoming medical outreach in Region 1 underscores the US Embassy’s initiative to support Guyana in the areas of improved governance…and prosperity for all,” she noted.

Lynch highlighted that as a result of the Embassy’s pledge to render assistance to the citizens of Guyana, an organization attached to the embassy will be providing a team of 17 medical officers, 9 of whom will be assisting in the Medical Outreach to take place in Region 1.

Chief Operations Officer of the Guyana Medical Relief organization, Sharir Chan, indicated that the outreach will be offering testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, cervical screening, basic care and a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Also apart of the proceedings, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony relayed thanks on behalf of the Government of Guyana to the organizations who will be lending a helping hand in ensuring that the program comes to fruition. “The Ministry of Health is very pleased to have this outreach happening in Region One,” he said.

Minister Anthony urged the team to stress the importance of persons being vaccinated during their outreach, as it is necessary to “dispel the myths” that he says persons seem to have that is preventing them from taking the jab. “We need to get people to understand the importance of getting vaccinated…we know some people are hesitant because of misinformation being spread, but…with proper information [and] answering their queries and so forth…we can dispel a lot of the myths that are circulating,” Anthony explained.