THE Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Health, officially launched the Guyana One Health Project at the Aiden Hotel in Georgetown, on Friday.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Health, the launch, marked a critical milestone in Guyana’s continued efforts to strengthen its pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities.
Funded through a grant from the Pandemic Fund and credit support from the World Bank, the project aims to fortify Guyana’s resilience to health emergencies using a One Health approach, a collaborative, multi-sectoral, and transdisciplinary model that recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.
The project development objective is to strengthen Guyana’s capacities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to health emergencies through a One Health approach and, in the case of an eligible crisis or emergency, respond promptly and effectively to it.
In his keynote address, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, underscored the project’s scientific foundation and strategic importance.
“We thought it was important that we situate the proposal into things that we really needed. If we’re going to do a good One Health Project, we also needed to understand what was going on with the animal population”, the Health Minister said.
Dr. Anthony emphasised that the project is rooted in lessons learned from COVID-19 and is designed to address health threats at their source including those originating from animals.
Also delivering remarks was Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service. Dr Singh highlighted Guyana’s longstanding engagement with international financing institutions
“We demonstrated our capacity to absorb and successfully deploy AIDA resources. I also want to publicly acknowledge the United States of America for your continued support for AIDA, recognising the remarks made by the US Treasury Secretary on the importance of multilateral institutions”, he stated.
The One Health Project aligns with Guyana’s commitment to advancing the International Health Regulations and aims to improve key public health systems, enhance multi-sectoral coordination, and strengthen veterinary and environmental health capacities.
Also present at this event were Permanent Secretary, Malcolm Watkins; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Narine Singh; Technical Project Lead Dr. Anand Persaud and other directors and senior officials.