GUYANA on Tuesday assumed the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Special Commission on Health in the Amazon (CESAM), taking over from Ecuador and pledging to strengthen regional co-operation in tackling the major health challenges affecting countries across the Amazon region.
The handover took place during the 8th Extraordinary Meeting of CESAM, which was held virtually and brought together representatives of Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).
Guyana was represented by Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, while Ecuador was represented by Undersecretary for Health Surveillance, Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Public Health, María José Mena, along with other Ecuadorian officials. Administrative Director of the ACTO Permanent Secretariat, Edith Paredes, also participated in the meeting.
Dr Anthony, upon assuming the presidency, thanked Ecuador for its stewardship and stressed that the countries of the Amazon share many health challenges that require greater co-operation, the exchange of experiences and the effective use of regional capacities.
One of Guyana’s immediate priorities will be to operationalise CESAM’s three permanent sub-commissions and ensure the active participation of Member Countries in advancing their respective work programmes.
The sub-commissions focus on Digital Health, Environment and Gender Equity; Priority and Emerging Diseases; and Intercultural Health and Traditional Medicine.
Guyana will also continue the Commission’s existing work plan while proposing new initiatives for consideration during its tenure.
Dr Anthony highlighted Suriname’s experience in eliminating malaria as an important opportunity for strengthening co-operation among Amazonian countries and advancing regional efforts against the disease.
The meeting also reviewed Ecuador’s tenure as Pro Tempore President, during which progress was made in reactivating and consolidating CESAM, developing its work plan and establishing the three permanent sub-commissions.
Among the initiatives advanced during Ecuador’s presidency were discussions on the Strategic Plan for Comprehensive Health in the Amazon, efforts to address communicable diseases including malaria, and the development of a proposal to incorporate a health module into the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO).
The proposed health module is intended to strengthen the availability and exchange of regional information to support health-related decision-making across Amazonian countries.
A roadmap presented at Tuesday’s meeting outlines the next steps, with CESAM expected to establish criteria and conditions for the exchange and availability of information, while Member Countries designate technical focal points to advance the process.
ACTO Administrative Director Edith Paredes commended Ecuador for its work and underscored the importance of maintaining continuity in the regional health agenda.
She noted that many of the challenges facing the Amazon require coordinated responses because of the region’s vast distances, difficulties in accessing health services, the effects of climate change, emerging and re-emerging diseases, and the particular needs of Indigenous Peoples and local and traditional communities.
Paredes said Guyana was assuming leadership of a fully operational CESAM with an established foundation on which to build but stressed that maintaining the momentum achieved and translating the Commission’s work into concrete results for Amazonian populations would be critical.
As part of the next steps, Guyana proposed using the participation of Member Countries in the Pan American Health Organization’s Directing Council meeting at the end of September as an opportunity to convene an in-person CESAM meeting.
The proposed meeting would allow representatives to advance discussions on the Commission’s work plan and determine the next actions for strengthening regional co-operation on health across the Amazon.
