–President Ali says, talks up potential for long-term interventions, training, knowledge exchange
LEVERAGING medical expertise from Qatar, Guyana is seeking to further build its capacity to offer specialised healthcare services both locally and regionally.
This was revealed by President, Dr Irfaan Ali during a dinner on Sunday evening for the Qatar Red Crescent Medical team.
“We are willing to partner from an administrative perspective and also from a technical perspective, with the skills that we will be developing, because we know we live in a region that is susceptible to natural disasters, and we want to be able to also build our capacity to help our brothers and sisters in the region in time of needs,” the President said.
He related that the medical convoy has already signalled plans to return to spearheading long-term interventions.
The Qatari Red Crescent’s (QRCS) medical convoy provided specialised surgeries and training to local doctors, focusing on paediatric, gynaecological and cardiac cases.
Notable successes included saving a one-day-old baby with tricuspid atresia and treating oncological cases. Future collaborations include observerships and fellowships for local doctors.
“Qatar has been leading in many areas of global development, and Qatar has also been leading in all efforts to enhance humanity and build stronger global citizens today, because of your work with us in transferring technology and knowledge and building partnership, we have advanced one step closer in our bilateral relationship,” President Ali said adding: “We have advanced in a more dignified way, because when you save your life or when you have these interventions, it is not only about the people who benefit, it’s about the nation and the country that will benefit from human assets, that will continue to live a healthy and fulfilling life.”
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony shared his optimism to further strengthen the relationship and build on the positive experiences shared by the local team.
“We are building on this relationship, and I’m sure that with the kind of friendships that we have developed over the last couple of days, that this can only grow stronger,” Dr Anthony had said
Established in March 1978 as Qatar’s first volunteering charitable organisation, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) works to help and empower vulnerable individuals and communities without partiality or discrimination.
With funding from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), QRCS had last week, launched a seven-day multi-specialisation medical convoy at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Under the project, a volunteering medical delegation from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Sidra Medicine was deployed to Guyana to perform 120 cardiac catheterisation, colectomy, paediatric urology, and breast-cancer surgeries.
The medical delegation comprised nine specialists, including paediatric interventional cardiologists, paediatric urologists, obstetricians and gynaecologists, and catheterisation laboratory technicians.
This mission is part of QRCS’s year-round medical convoys programme, which involves the deployment of volunteering doctors to several countries to provide medical care, perform surgeries, and build the capacity of medical facilities and personnel with supplies, training, and expertise.
The QRCS commended Guyana for its efforts in modernising its healthcare systems to better deliver services to the populace.
Most recently, the government commissioned several new regional hospitals and health-care facilities across the country. These have been supplemented by efforts to digitise health records and enhance training for health-care professionals.