– Minister Ramsammy at 10th Regional Programme Review
GUYANA continues to stimulate the momentum towards the elimination of lymphatic filariasis at the Regional and Global levels, according to Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.
He was at the time addressing participants at the 10th Regional Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination programme review at the Princess Hotel, East Bank Demerara yesterday.
He also used the opportunity to welcome participants to Guyana for the second hosting of the conference.
Minister Ramsammy said he was pleased to acknowledge the tremendous progress that the programme has made over the past ten years on the path of eliminating neglected diseases regionally and globally.
He charged participants to continue their drive in achieving the year 2020 vision to end the scourge caused by the neglected disease.
He urged participants to reflect on the progress that was achieved by the elimination of lymphatic filariasis.
Whilst highlighting some of the progress made, Minister Ramsammy commended Haiti for their remarkable achievement in the speedy recovery and resumption of their programme months after the devastating earthquake that hit them last year.
Minister Ramsammy, while pointing out the key players in the programme, also commended the media for their extended coverage and “the role they played by educating people about these diseases and making them less disregarded.
In 2008, he said close to US$3.2B was invested in a programme for research and monitoring of the neglected diseases which included Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculoses (TB) and Malaria. Some thirty other diseases such as Hook, Plant and Soil transmitted worms were classically neglected.
He noted that while, US$3.2B would look like a large sum, only a small percentage is dedicated to partnership and diagnosis efforts, inclusive of prevention and treatment products.
“Out of the over 140 new products on the horizon for prevention and diagnosis, only a few are for neglected diseases,” Minister Ramsammy told participants.
While outlining the developments made in Guyana over the years in strengthening its health system to respond to several neglected diseases, Minister Ramsammy expressed appreciation to several partners inclusive of USAID, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) for their very significant support in this regard.
“Guyana is standing ready to play a leading role in this region and I believe there is nothing that could stop us in the Americas to be the first in the Region to have eliminated the neglected diseases,” Minister Ramsammy said.
The mission of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis is to bring together a diverse group of public-private health partners to support the Global Programme to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis by mobilising financial and technical resources to ensure success.
Communicable Diseases Coordinator, PAHO (Guyana) N. Ceron, and Coordinator of the WHO Global programme for lymphatic filariasis, K. Ichimori  are optimistic that the  vision of the year 2020 elimination is achievable.
Ceron said that the overall goal is getting the global LF Elimination programme successfully under way, and toward the effective, efficient elimination of these diseases.
The two-day conference is being held by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with PAHO/WHO and other partners supporting the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis.
WHO, in a release, said DEC-fortified salt programme is the first of its kind that was launched in Guyana in July 2003 and that it was extremely successful, based on assessments on the knowledge of DEC-fortified salt and the rapid initial sales of the products.
Lymphatic filariasis is caused by thread-like parasitic worms of the species Wunchereria bancrofti, called filariae. These filarial parasites, in their adult stage, live in the vessels of the lymphatic system for 4-6 years, producing millions of very small larvae – immature microfilariae that circulate in the peripheral blood. The infection is transmitted by mosquitoes that bite infected humans and pick up the microfilariae from the blood.