– migrants force increase of TB programme

REGION One has recorded a significant increase in teenage pregnancy, says the Region One Regional Health Officer, Dr. Latchmie Lall.

A press release from the Region One Regional Democratic Council said Lall reported that from January to November this year, they were 259 teenage pregnancies with the youngest being 12 years old. This, she said, was from a population of approximately 850 persons.
She said that from January to December 2018 they were 152 pregnancies. She noted that migrants night be fuelling the numbers also.

TB PROGRAMME UNDER STRAIN

The RHO pointed out that because of the very large number of migrants who have taken up living in Guyana, they have been forced to increase their TB programme, stating that it has been under immense strain. She said that they are facing grave challenges in this area, stating that they are diagnosing those migrants with TB. She noted that while they are managing to stabilise them, they are a moving population.

“The grave challenge that we are seeking to address is that while we are able to stabilise them with the TB, they are a population that is moving back and forth and when they go they go for three to four months and this results in them not being able to follow up, thus placing undue pressure on the DOTS workers. It simply means that back here we are now forced to start that process again,” the RHO admitted.

The RHO noted further that the department is now seeking to create a number of databases with information on the migrant population being recorded separately, thus allowing them to know exactly the numbers of migrants accessing healthcare and other health-related services.