Govt partnering with universities, other int’l institutions to improve local healthcare

– healthcare workers to also receive training in UK, European Universities

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has made a number of partnerships with countries in North America and Europe, all aimed at furthering Guyana’s healthcare development.
Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said that these partnerships range from Harvard University in the United States (US) to Mac Masters in the United Kingdom (UK).
During Saturday’s launch of the Universal Healthcare Voucher, the Minister of Health revealed that in the case of Harvard University, a team has been helping Guyana to build its capacity to eliminate the mosquito borne disease of malaria, including through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“We also have another partnership with Harvard University. We have a team that has been coming down here, working with us to eliminate diseases such as Malaria. And one of the outcomes of those visits is we’ve been working on an app, where this AI system we’re developing, will be able to read Malaria slides.”
“So far, with the test applications we’ve run in Region Nine, its about 99 per cent accurate. And we’re hoping that once we get in more test results, what we’ve developed and piloted in Guyana will be used in other parts of the world that are having malaria problems,” Anthony said.
Canada
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health spoke of Guyana’s partnerships with Canada geared towards enhancing Guyana’s healthcare delivery. This has included working with York University, a highly regarded University in Ontario, Canada.
“While we look at the US, we also have very strong partnerships with Canada. And in Canada, we’ve been working with York University. We’ve trained a number of persons who’re now working with us as hospital administrators. We’ve also trained a number of physicians who’re now working on physician leadership.”
“So, when they go to some of these facilities we’ve built, they’re now able to take on these leadership roles. And I think that is extremely important for us, as we continue to build our systems,” Dr Anthony said.
Anthony also referenced work that the Government has done with Mac Masters University in Canada. He revealed that over the next few years, at least 30 persons will be able to get Fellowship training at Mac Masters.
Guyanese doctors who received training at the Canadian University are already returning to Guyana and providing their expertise.
“Right now, we have a neonatologist who is at Mac Master doing training. We have persons in cardiology. And a whole host of areas where we don’t have these specialists, we’re now sending them to Mac Masters to receive training. And they’re going to return and work for us.”
“One of the good things about Mac Masters, when our doctors go there, they’re licensed to practice in Canada. And when they’ve finished their training, that licence is withdrawn and they come back home so that they can work at home. And I think that’s a very good thing for us,” Dr Anthony said.
Reference was also made to Mohawk College, a Canada-based institution, where Guyana will be sending trainees to become ultrasound technicians. The first batch of graduates will, in turn, pass on their expertise to other Guyanese. This initiative forms part of broader collaborations with Canada.
Europe
Touching on British assistance, Dr Anthony revealed that they are seeking more training opportunities for Guyanese in the UK. According to him, a number of Guyanese have already received training at various British Universities in Public Health.
“But very soon, we’ll be working with them in a closer manner, so that a number of their academic institutions will customise programmes for us so that we can send our doctors, nurses, other professionals to be trained and come back to Guyana. So this is a very extensive programme we’re developing with the UK.”
“We also have a very close partnership with the EU (European Union), and recently when the President went to Barbados, a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between Guyana, Barbados and the EU, so that we can extend our collaboration.”
According to Anthony, one of the things Guyana will be looking to benefit from in this partnership is support from the EU, so the country can become a hub for manufacturing pharmaceuticals and vaccines. They will not only be looking to build out Guyana’s regulatory capacity, but also send persons to Europe to be trained.
“And they have identified Lithuania as one of the countries to offer us technical capacity building, so that we’ll be working very closely with them. In addition, some of the funding they set aside will allow us to have academic partnerships with various universities in the EU and we’ve already visited and talked to some of these institutions, in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France.”