WORLD BANK Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, and Country Director for the Caribbean, Lilia Burunciuc, completed their first official visit to Guyana on Thursday. According to a release, they commended the progress made by the Government of Guyana towards COVID-19 recovery, noting that over 51 per cent of Guyana’s adult population has received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Jaramillo and Burunciuc also discussed how the World Bank could support the government’s plan to create a more enabling environment for the private sector and improved living standards for the citizens of Guyana. “We are pleased to provide ongoing support for the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Guyana, which is critical to accelerate the recovery and for equitable growth,” said Jaramillo.  During their visit to Guyana, Jaramillo and Burunciuc met with President, Dr. Irfaan Ali; Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and other stakeholders, including international development partners.
“In our conversations with the country’s leadership, we underscored our commitment to making a real impact on improving people’s lives in Guyana,” said Burunciuc.  “I look forward to continuing work with the government on climate resilience, supporting the private sector, and investing in people.”  To see the progress made by some of the projects financed by the World Bank in the country, Jaramillo and the team visited the Westminster Secondary School that was constructed and equipped under the Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project. They also toured pumping stations in Lusignan and Enmore, which were built as a component of the Guyana Flood Risk Management Project. These pumps mitigate the impact of floods by reducing the time that floodwaters remain on land.  The World Bank currently has seven active projects in Guyana that address human capital development, fiscal sustainability, disaster risk management and governance, as well as the mitigation of the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.