MINISTER of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, on Monday, formally engaged the Women Miners Organisation (WMO) as part of efforts to strengthen its ongoing strategic partnership with stakeholders, in order to ensure quality health care is delivered to every Guyanese, especially women and children.

The WMA is one of the newest organisations representing women, and it seeks to support the rights of women miners and other females earning a living in mining districts and hinterland communities.
According to Minister Ramsaran, due to the increasing number of women in the mining areas, as a result of the recent hike in the gold price, the ministry has sought to solicit the organisation’s support in becoming partners in promoting health literacy in the hinterland and mining areas.
The minister noted that as the hinterland has been opening up, more women are finding themselves in remotely located areas, in order to earn a living. At the same time, he said they continue to live their lives, having children and becoming ill or engaging in activities that may put them in harm’s way. As a result, the minister said that the ministry will be placing special emphasis on the health and well-being of women miners. “This is an additional extension of a strategic partnership that will help to educate the women miners on how to live healthy, even as they carry on their mining activities.”
The ministry will be looking at the possibilities of training additional medical staffers to be stationed at specific mining areas, not only to carry out medical services, but educational programmes dealing with issues such as alcoholism, smoking, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and cervical cancer.
He said that the ministry will continue to support the WMO, and provide the necessary materials to carry out its work as it relates to health matters.
The organisation’s President, Simona Broomes, welcomed the partnership. She said that the association is willing to have some of its staff members trained in relevant areas; however, it will have to fully sponsor those persons and will have the responsibility of monitoring and deploying them.
Broomes said that the organisation has a health unit and the partnership with the ministry will boost its capacity. She promised to assist the ministry in carrying out its activities to ensure health services are delivered to all Guyanese.
“We volunteer to work with the ministry and its policy in the best interest of providing better health care to all”.
Broomes also pledged to provide the ministry with suggestions on the areas in which they can improve health care, especially in the mining areas. She has pointed out that in 72 Miles, Region 7, there is need for a cold storage facility, especially for vaccines, and a radio set at the health centre.
This community, she said, is a small but growing one, with a large number of women.  The minister assured the organisation that the ministry will take these suggestions on board.