PUBLIC Health Minister Volda Lawrence did not mince words when she called out the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), over their handling of the health sector in the 10 Administrative Regions.

On Monday, the Public Health Minister expressed disappointment that the Ministry of Communities was not represented at the Maternal and Child Health, Expanded Programme on Immunisation (MCH-EPI) Quarterly Review Meeting at the Pegasus Hotel.

“I am very disappointed, very disappointed that the Ministry of Communities, which has the budget for Public Health in the regions, is not here today,” Minister Lawrence told regional health officials present. She told the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) officers, that she is aware of the many challenges they face in acquiring the necessary resources to execute their duties.

“I know over the days, you are going to speak of all the hindrances, personal hindrances, people fighting over boat, people fighting over engine. I am so tired of it,” she said.

Minister Lawrence said that all stakeholders must come to the realisation that health is critical to the development and sustainability of any society. “You can build all the roads, and you can build all the schools, but if you don’t have a healthy population who is going to use it,” she reasoned.

According to the public health minister, in many instances the Ministry of Communities’ officials operating out of the RDCs, hinder the health workers from going to the far reaches of the country.

“They (Ministry of Communities) should have been here to hear from our workers, that they are not being reimbursed as they ought to be reimbursed when they go into the fields, and they cannot go into the fields if they don’t have transportation,” Minister Lawrence said, as she expressed her frustration.

“Some of them (villages) are not accessible by ATVs, so we are calling on the Ministry of Communities to do more in terms of providing the transportation to take us out to those communities, so we can reach those women,” Minister Lawrence said.

According to her, the Ministry of Communities needs to determine whether it will address the issues affecting the delivery of health services in the regions or, hand over the financial resources to the Public Health Ministry.

“It is either they do what they are supposed to do or, give us our monies and let us spend it so we can get on with our work,” she posited.

That aside, she said that the Health Ministry is working with the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry to promote healthy lifestyles, among indigenous populations. Emphasis, she said, is focused on Maternal and Child Health.

“Our issue basically has to do with geography, has to do with culture because if you notice most of our deaths are coming from the regions where our indigenous populations are very high, and so we are seeking to work with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs to see how we could collaborate,” Minister Lawrence explained.

She noted that an initial meeting with Vice President Sydney Allicock has been held. The Public Health Ministry is hoping to utilise the services and skills of some of the officers from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs to work within the health centres, particularly those that can speak the dialect. Such a system, she said, would allow for better communication between the doctors and patients in those indigenous communities.

Minister Lawrence said too that there are social determinants of health that pose a number of challenges. “Some women don’t want to come out to the clinics, so we want to take the clinic to them,” she noted, while underscoring the importance of having community leaders like the toshaos to work with pregnant women, to ensure that they are able to access health services in a timely manner. It was noted that some pregnant mothers visit the clinic during the early stages of their pregnancy and then return until they are ready to deliver. This trend, Minister Lawrence said, is unacceptable.

Notwithstanding the challenges, Minister Lawrence used the platform to congratulate the “hard working” team from Maternal and Child Health (MCH) department.

The Public Health Minister also lauded the efforts of the international partners such as, the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) for offering the much-needed support to the Public Health Ministry.

Among the officials present at the meeting were PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr. Williams Adu-Krow; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud and MCH Officer (ag) Dr. Oneka Scott.