THE Ministry of Health on Wednesday donated two All-Terrain-Vehicles (ATVs) worth over $3M to Region 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), in an effort to combat malaria and other emergency health cases in Guyana.At a brief handing-over ceremony, Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran noted that just recently the ministry had donated similar vehicles to Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). As such, said the ministry has thereafter continued to make more donations to those remote areas.

Dr Ramsaran alluded to the fact that the ATVs are well adapted to work in rough terrain and can be very useful to areas like Region 8. He said the main purpose of the vehicles donated is to aid in the committed fight against malaria and other emergency diseases.
For the past two years, the Minister of Health said there has been a significant reduction of approximately 15,000 malaria cases across the regions in Guyana. Therefore, the ministry has been incredibly active in pushing for a larger number in the reduction of such emergency disease cases.
Moreover, he said the health sector is up to date with its vaccination programmes and has achieved 98% coverage through such programmes, nationwide.
Dr Ramsaran said his ministry will be placing more field workers such as doctors, nurses and other health care providers to ensure that adequate care is provided for the people of these remote areas. Lastly, he urged the Regional Executive Officer of Region 8, Mr Ronald Harsawack, to oversee the utilisation of the ATVs.
Meanwhile, Harsawack expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Region 8 committee to the Ministry of Health for the donation, since it has minimised one of their major challenges, which is to get to the people in such areas. He further stated that Region 8 is very mountainous, so there are no paved roads; as such, the ATVs will indeed serve its purpose.
He also noted that, thus far, there are six doctors in Region 8 who are part of the Guyana-Cuba pact and are all diligently working to ensure the people in that remote region are well provided for medically.