– receives 5,000 surgical masks from local donor, other items from CARPHA

By Navendra Seoraj
GUYANA’S capacity to provide care to persons suffering from the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been boosted with 29 ventilators.
The ventilators, which play an integral role in providing relief to patients suffering from respiratory distress – sometimes caused by COVID-19, were purchased by the Government of Guyana through funds acquired from the Indian Government.

Guyana had received US$1 million from the Government of India for COVID-19 Response. This allocation of US$1M was from the “Quick Impact Development Project” that is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support Guyana’s response to COVID-19.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, confirmed that the ventilators are in Guyana, and authorities have already decided where to place them.
“Over the next couple of days they (the ventilators) will be distributed to various hospitals,” said Dr. Anthony.

Guyana, on Monday, also received medical equipment from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

Dr. Anthony said the country received a number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from CARPHA, which has been coordinating distributions across the Caribbean. The agency received several donations from various international organisations, and has been distributing same to various countries.
In addition to CARPHA’s delivery, health authorities received 5,000 three-ply surgical masks from local company, “Leading Technology.”
This donation was made by Feyaad Nohar of Leading Technology located on Croal Street, Georgetown.

Nohar, in brief remarks, said that it was an act of kindness since he recognised that there were many persons who cannot afford masks. With that in mind, he plans on distributing masks to various administrative regions. Aside from the Ministry of Health, masks were also donated to the Guyana Police Force.
Dr. Anthony expressed gratitude for this contribution which added to others made by international partners such as PAHO/WHO, the Indian High Commission, the Chinese Consulate, the International Committee for Democracy and VAS Energy Inc. and the Civil Defence Commission.
The minister of health said that the items were stored at the Materials Management Unit (MMU) and can be accessed through the usual method of requisition.

Government has been actively seeking support to fight COVID-19, and it reported, recently, that President Irfaan Ali, in an address to the nation, had announced that government was in the process of securing US$60M to fund various aspects of its response to the deadly pandemic.
President Ali had said that those funds were being sourced from various international development partners, including the World Bank, IDB and the Islamic Development Bank. There has also been rapid response assistance from bilateral partners.
According to the President, the government has consulted with stakeholders nationwide to address the COVID-19 pandemic in a holistic manner.