Guyana’s ‘One Health’ initiative aims to detect any new pandemic

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony attended a high-level meeting at the Cara Lodge Hotel in Georgetown to discuss the key findings of the ‘One Health’ initiative, unveiling new plans to detect future pandemics.

In November 2020, the World Bank approved US$7.5 million for Guyana’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, to aid the country in combatting the pandemic and strengthening its health system. The project focused on enhancing laboratory capacity, supporting screening and surveillance, improving contact tracing, equipping healthcare facilities for better treatment and care of COVID-19 patients, and preparing for the deployment of a safe and approved COVID-19 vaccine.
Subsequently, the Health Ministry allocated some of the funds to collaborate with agencies such as the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization, Ministry of Finance, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to implement a ‘One Health’ agenda. This agenda aims to prevent and better prepare for current and future health challenges at the human-animal-environment interface, through collaboration and coordination across governance frameworks of human, animal, plant, and environmental health programmes.
Dr Anthony has commended the World Bank for its assistance during the season of the pandemic, and has noted that the Bank was flexible in adapting systems that aided in enabling Guyana to effectively control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Additionally, he highlighted the Health Ministry’s efforts in enhancing surveillance systems and conducting assessments for the ‘One Health’ agenda. Stating that the ministry has recognised that it is very important to also prepare a system for any new pandemic, Anthony said that any new pandemic that will happen would probably be a jump from animals into a human population.
“We have to be able to develop a system where they can detect viruses, whether it’s in an animal population or human population, so that we can see if there’s any connection,” he said, while further expressing that such detection is what the ministry is trying to build with the ‘One Health’ initiative.
“Fortunately, we’ve had this grant under this project, and we have utilised the resources to be able to finish all the assessments, and we’re now finishing off the national plan,” he declared.
The minister has also said that the ministry’s system was mainly paper-based, but through the grant, it was able to partner with Johns Hopkins University to develop an electronic database system that would be able to provide timely information. Along with this, he said, the ministry has implemented telemedicine sites to also aid in real-time information.
PAHO/WHO Country Representative Dr Luis Codina affirmed the commitment of PAHO/WHO and the Ministry of Health to strengthen every aspect of agencies under the ‘One Health’ approach, even as he highlighted that the project demonstrated remarkable flexibility in adapting to the evolving environment and addressing the country’s needs.
Senior Health Specialist for the World Bank, Federica Secci, has said the primary goal of the project is to enhance public health preparedness and serve as a catalyst for change, since it birthed the One Health Initiative.
Among those present at the event were UN Resident Coordinator for Guyana, Yesim Oruc; FAO’s Oletta Williams; Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy; and other representatives from the Health Ministry, Finance Ministry, World Bank, IICA, GLDA, and United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (G2)