After successfully completing its mandate in Guyana the International Training and Education Centre for Health (I-TECH) yesterday announced the closing of its office here.
A closing ceremony was held at the UNAIDS building on Main and New Market Streets, Georgetown, and Professor Michael Reyes, Senior Director of I-TECH, said the doors of the organization will still be open for future collaboration.
“A lot of challenges continue to face us, but we will leave the doors open for future collaborations” said Reyes.
Reyes noted that I-TECH was able to build stronger health systems in Guyana.
Present at the ceremony was Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, who encouraged Mr. Reyes to leave the doors of I-TECH open. He said the Ministry of Health and I-TECH have to maintain its partnership.
Dr. Ramsarran noted that the many training and programmes that I-TECH provided the health sector with have already begun to work smoothly. He said the investment in I-TECH has produced what the health sector expected.
The junior minister also assured the staff of I-TECH that the physical assets that will be handed over to the ministry by the organization are much needed.
At the ceremony Mr. Reyes handed over I-TECH’s Resource Package on Training and Curricula Development to the Ministry of Health.
According to Country Director of I-TECH Dr. Wallis Best Plummer, the organization over a period of almost six years of working in Guyana has proudly facilitated the production of internationally standardized, collaboratively developed, accurate, current and accredited basic HIV and AIDS curricula for training specific cadres of Guyanese health care workers, such as nurses, pharmacists, medex and community health workers.
Plummer also pointed out that I-TECH has secured many other critical accomplishments, including the development of an award-winning HIV website for the Ministry of Health and many other tools and training resources for improving the quality of training, targeting adult health workers.
She added that I-TECH has completed its goal, which was to coordinate and ensure high quality training in HIV/AIDS care and treatment, according to national policy and international standards.
Plummer also noted that specifically, at the request of Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, I-TECH’s scope of work sought to strengthen training of allied health care workers in HIV/AIDS and the coordination of such training being undertaken by the Ministry of Health’s partners.
Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) Programme Officer, Ms. Nicolette Henry, was also present at the closing ceremony and noted that the Ministry of Health’s monitoring and support HIV/AIDS programmes will be increasingly enhanced with the assets handed over by I-TECH.
I-TECH, formerly the International Training and Education Centre on HIV, was founded in 2002 by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Government, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as an international model of the US domestic AIDS Education and Training Centers.
The organization works with the ministries of health to increase human and institutional capacity for care and treatment.
It also partners with other agencies such as universities, non-governmental organisations and medical facilities.
Apart from its major grant from HRSA, the organisation has also received funding through grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Department of Defense (DOD) and other organisations.
I-TECH began its work in Guyana as a sub-grantee of the Francois-Bagnoud-Xavier Centre of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, bringing its repertoire of skills and resources for HIV education, training and curriculum development.