ROTARY Guyana (a combination of all rotary clubs in the country) has collaborated with a number of businesses to launch the “Community COVID-19 Initiative,” which seeks to address the impact of the pandemic in Guyana.

As concerned citizens of Guyana, the aim is to provide assistance to the Ministry of Public Health in its effort to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative will be implemented with guidance from The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which are recognised as leading global experts.

The initiative will focus on developing an effective multimedia campaign to educate the public with credible, verified information from the PAHO/WHO and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Further, it will raise funds for the procurement of medical supplies for healthcare providers to meet the anticipated need.

The supplies gained will be handed over to the health authorities. “With monetary support from the business community, the initiative will seek to assist with procurement of critical medical supplies,” a statement from Rotary Guyana said.

The initiative acknowledges the PAHO’s technical expertise and its important supportive role in Guyana’s healthcare system. “To date, the Community COVID-19 Initiative has identified medical supply needs from the Ministry of Public Health and Mercy Hospital. They are also communicating with other healthcare facilities to identify their medical supply needs at this time,” the release said.

The Community COVID-19 Initiative’s goal for their multimedia campaign is to help bring awareness to the general public so as to contain the spread of the dreaded disease. “Through multimedia platforms, the initiative will be sharing informative messages, videos and flyers to reach as many Guyanese as possible. All of these messages that will be shared with our fellow Guyanese on COVID-19 will be based on credible information publicised by the ministry, PAHO/WHO, and CDC,” the statement added.

The initiative is supported by Rotary Guyana, E-Networks Inc., RED Entertainment, Ogle+Stone, 94.1FM, GTT, MixFM and Toucan Industries. The Community COVID-19 Initiative is aiming to gain more support from the business community and is welcoming all concerned citizens of Guyana to join the fight against COVID-19.