Guyana launches ‘One Health Project’ to boost pandemic preparedness

…adopting new strategies to strengthen emergency response

The Government, through the Health Ministry, on Friday officially launched the Guyana One Health Project at the Aiden Hotel in Georgetown. The launch marked a critical milestone in Guyana’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities.
Funded through a grant from the Pandemic Fund and credit support from the World Bank, the project aims to fortify Guyana’s resilience to health emergencies using a One Health approach: a collaborative, multi-sectoral, and transdisciplinary model that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

The project development objective is to strengthen Guyana’s capacities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to health emergencies through the One Health approach, and, in the case of an eligible crisis or emergency, respond promptly and effectively.
In his keynote address, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony underscored the project’s scientific foundation and strategic importance.
“We thought it was important to situate the proposal around things we really needed. If we’re going to implement a successful One Health project, we also need to understand what is going on within the animal population,” the minister stated.
He emphasized that while the project is a worthwhile initiative, the Ministry of Health must improve its understanding of animal health.
“There are many things we don’t yet understand. Domestic animals are one thing, but what is happening with wildlife? What’s going on in that population? It’s quite challenging for us.”
Dr. Anthony noted that these concerns were considered when designing the new project.
He admitted that the Ministry was not entirely satisfied with the existing assessments, especially in terms of ethology.
“We felt the need for independent verification. That’s why we brought in joint external evaluators to determine exactly where we stand with this project. They helped us identify the gaps, and compare those with what we had already done. Bringing all of this together allowed us to formulate a very strong technical proposal. This project has evolved based on those insights and on our past experiences.”
Lending his perspective on a regional scale, Dr. Anthony added that although CARPHA was involved in some of this work in the Caribbean, its capacity is limited.
“By building more capacity and tracking more pathogens, we will be able to provide support not just for ourselves, but for the rest of the Caribbean. Over time, we envision becoming a reliable reference laboratory for the region. As we expand our capacity, it will become an asset not only for Guyana but for all of CARICOM,” he said.
Dr. Anthony emphasized that the project is rooted in lessons learned from COVID-19 and is designed to address health threats at their source — including those originating from animals.
Also delivering remarks was Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service. He highlighted Guyana’s longstanding engagement with international financing institutions.
“We have demonstrated our capacity to absorb and successfully deploy AIDA resources. I also want to publicly acknowledge the United States of America for its continued support for AIDA, recognizing the remarks made by the U.S. Treasury Secretary on the importance of multilateral institutions,” he stated.
The One Health Project aligns with Guyana’s commitment to advancing the International Health Regulations, and aims to improve key public health systems, enhance multi-sectoral coordination, and strengthen veterinary and environmental health capacities.
Also present at the event were Permanent Secretary Malcolm Watkins; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Narine Singh; Technical Project Lead Dr. Anand Persaud, and other directors and senior officials.