He noted that the use and the trafficking of the these weapons is very worrying even instilling fear in many in the region, pointing to the recent signing of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and most ACCP member states and which Guyana signed on to earlier this week.
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr. Roger Luncheon has said that government would support initiatives taken in the realm of public health to ensure information that is disseminated to the public are adopted by modern medical practices.

He was responding to questions by the media at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, regarding recent letters by the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) to CNS Channel Six about breaches in regulations.

In the first complaint dated April 20, the ACB noted that the channel aired a religious programme whose host declared that ‘they can sure any incurable disease, including HIV/AIDS’.

The Committee stated, “This is highly erroneous and destructive to the population of Guyana since some individuals will eschew proper medical treatment hoping for a religious miracle (cure).”

Alluding to the Allied Health Professionals Bill tabled in the National Assembly, Dr. Luncheon said, “What the bill could do if vigorously implemented, would be to recognise allied health professionals and I hope deny those who are not recognised in law their utterances on the local television,” he expressed.

He added, “Particularly utterances that seek to beguile the unsuspecting population in perhaps their most defenseless time of great illnesses and fatal problems and to get them to subscribe to unscientific, unsubstantiated approaches to resolve health problems.”

However, he stressed, “I am not putting miracles in the same context, but as a medical professional, I think the administration properly would be supporting initiatives taken in the realm of public health to ensure that the information that is disseminated subscribe to what is known and what has been proven and what is adopted by modern medical practices.”

He further pointed out, “I hope it is in that context that the ACB wrote Mr. Sharma saying…”

“…those claim if they are not rigorously supported by science, by the medical professions that indeed it should not be allowed to enter into your homes,” he said.

“I would be happy to find that the ACB supports my perspective and this is not necessarily anti-religion or anti-Allied Health Profession, undocumented, unlicensed but it is pro-public health and it tends to the reality of our population,” he stated.

Another complaint dated April 27 declared that the channel was in breach of Section 23 (A) of its licence by airing a movie at 15:00 h which contained violently graphic scenes.

The ACB warned that ‘the responsibility of reaching and maintaining higher broadcasting standards belong to all of us’.

Responding to the complaints filed by the ACB which highlighted breaches of television regulations, CNS Channel 6 had responded that ‘measures will be taken to ensure that the regulations of the ACB are complied with.’

CNS Channel 6 had its licence suspended for four months in 2008 after it breached its television licence agreement.