DEVELOPMENT of the blood transfusion system is on the cards as Argentina and Guyana move to strengthen and improve their diplomatic relationship as it pertains to the Public Health Sector.This was declared by the Argentine Ambassador to Guyana, Luis Martino, after paying a courtesy call on the Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton.
According to Ambassador Martino, “during the discussion we had the opportunity to discuss some of the programmes that the Argentine Government is undertaking in the region, assessed possibilities of cooperation in different sectors of public health and also review some of the ongoing projects in the sector.”
One project which he noted sparked an immediate interest is the blood transfusion system in Guyana, whereby Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has undertaken several meetings to start developing the first assessment mission.
However, they still do not have the actual base, but hope for this at the end of the year because Dr. Norton still has to analyse the idea before making a decision.
Apart from that, “there are other areas, one of which our Government is quite active in is the horizontal cooperation fund in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which deals with ideas and projects with other developing countries in the pyridine of the concept of south-south cooperation – one foreign policy which is oiled for some years now,” he said.
According to the ambassador, hopefully, Guyana could participate in this fund as seen in some other Latin American countries, and they can use this fund to put some trust in the bilateral agreement with regards to public health between Guyana and Argentina.
Meanwhile, Minister Norton said that he was delighted for the visit, as it was very productive indeed because they discussed how Guyana can receive technical support for public health.
As the Ambassador noted, “efforts are being made for them to support us in the blood bank, so we could have blood banks in far reaching areas and also utilize the various health centers instead of persons having to come till to Georgetown.”
Another major topic which was discussed, Minister Norton noted, is “post-graduate training” for medical practitioners who wish to further their studies and become more qualified and further contribute towards the development of the sector.