-Support teams to be deployed over the weekend
WITH the local hydrometeorological office predicting a continuation of heavy rainfall over the weekend, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy says health teams are on high alert in Region Nine (Upper Essequibo/Upper Takutu) where flood waters are rising.
“Many communities are cut off from the road linkages with the rising water…The main concerns are water and food,” he said, adding that government agencies such as the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and Civil Defence Commission (CDC) are working in collaboration to assist communities as best as possible.
“We are monitoring the situation, and so far, there are no major reports of ill health,” he said.
He, however, stressed that health workers are fully prepared, since such situations can grow from bad to worse in a very short space of time. “…the number of people with complaints will come to the hospitals or health centres in their numbers around the same time,” he said, adding:
“The RHO (Regional Health Officer) has not made a request for help, but we are providing additional support to keep things under control.”
Support, he said, includes medical supplies and additional human resources, which will make their way to the region over the weekend.
“The region has experienced flooding before, so we maintain adequate supplies in the region, but we will not wait for the demand to be upon us to then mobilize additional supplies. We are replenishing supplies, and improving the capacity of the health workers in the region to respond,” the minister said, adding that with the hygiene of drinking water a primary area of concern, health worker’s proactive efforts will avoid major problems.
“We have a stock of Chloro-Sol that will be used to help communities purify their water,” he said.
Chloro-Sol is a special water treatment formula to make water safer for use. It is being manufactured according to the Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO) standards by Globe Manufacturing and Drug Company Limited. The active ingredient in Chloro-Sol is sodium hydrochloride, which is “virtually tasteless, and works just as effectively as the chlorine found in household bleach.”
According to Dr Ramsammy, the supplies also include Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) for cases of diarrhoea.
He noted that the environmental health impact during floods in the area is less acute compared to the coast, considering the concentration of the population.
“We want to ensure that the essential needs are in adequate supplies,” he said, adding that routine Med-Kits are also included in the supplies being sent to the region.
“We are sending additional med-kits; so over the weekend and Monday, the personnel and supplies will make their way to the region,” he said.
The Health Minister maintains that regardless where flooding occurs, the Ministry of Health and other agencies will support communities where residents are affected.
“It is a thin line, and things can get from bad to worse in a short space of time, but we are prepared, and have the capacity to respond as the situation changes in Region Nine,” he said.