THE United States Embassy Humanitarian Assistance Programme (HAP), is set to host a five-day medical outreach in the Region One communities of Mabaruma and Port Kaituma, next month.
Head of the embassy’s civil affairs team, Greg Talbert, disclosed that medical personnel will be working in the region from August 2 to 6.
The outreach will facilitate both local and international personnel who will provide the residents with medical treatment for varying health issues.

A US team of doctors from the Global Medical and Surgical Support Group, who are specialists in various fields of medicine, will be conducting medical testing and treatment in areas inclusive of hypertension, dentistry, minor surgery, and even identification and treatment of skin diseases and other health issues.
Talbert noted that a main area of focus for the outreach will be women’s health and, as such, trained medical persons will be deployed to provide obstetrics and gynaecology care and other services that would cater directly to the specific needs of women in the aforementioned communities.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the initiative is expected to target approximately 1,000 persons in Mabaruma and an additional 1,000 in Port Kaituma. It is anticipated that this will be the largest number of persons ever targeted at any of the local outreaches facilitated by the programme. Talbert told this publication that with the current health focus being placed primarily on the fight against the COVID-19 virus, the embassy believes that this is the optimal opportunity to host this initiative.
He highlighted that the initiative will not just reach Guyanese citizens but also Venezuelans who are living in those communities.
Talbert stated that based on initial assessments, the embassy has been able to deduce that several Venezuelans are making their way into Guyana via the borders and, like the residents of the two communities, they would also need medical attention.

He noted that the idea for this type of exercise came following a recently concluded training exercise for medical practitioners in the region. The training, which was executed by the embassy, is expected to improve the range of services available to the residents of the region. “Those communities, we choose them as a follow-up from the initiative we facilitated in March where we had a medical education exercise with medical practitioners there, and from that they would have identified a lot of needs for services. So, this is a follow-up from that where we would now deliver on services to address those needs this time,” said Talbert.
He noted that the team, which consists of local and international doctors, surgeons and medical experts, will begin work in Port Kaituma on August 2, and will make their way by boat on August 4 to Mabaruma to continue the outreach.

One of the notable parts of the outreach, he said, will be the provision of surgical services at the Port Kaituma Hospital. He stated that surgeons, who have received Ministry of Health approval, will assess the need for the residents and will be able to perform minor surgeries. Additionally, he noted that the outreach would be used as a means of highlighting the needs of residents which would be addressed by government and other non-governmental organisations.
Dennis Cruz, a member of the embassy’s media information team, noted that the initiative would greatly impact the lives of the residents

who, according to him, have reported that they do not always have access to medical outreaches of this magnitude.
“It’s going to affect them tremendously. This is an opportunity that’s like a one-stop shop. They can go around and see doctor after doctor, probably get medicine, supplies, vitamins for their families and I can almost bet that they are in dire need of this…not saying the ministry hasn’t facilitated this or that the residents aren’t healthy, but an extra hand is always positive, it never hurt anybody,” said Cruz.
PharmX, Guyana Medical Relief, and the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) are also partnering with the embassy to ensure that the necessary services and medical supplies will be provided to the residents.