Guyana strengthens disaster readiness capabilities with specialised training

Emergency responders and healthcare workers are currently undergoing specialised training in mass casualty management to strengthen national disaster preparedness capacity through an international medical cooperation initiative.
The programme, led by the Health Ministry with support from the University of Miami and the United States Air Force (USAF) under the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2026 Medical Mission, brings together healthcare professionals and members of the disciplined services for hands-on instruction in disaster response.
Heath Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, during the opening ceremony on Monday stated that the collaboration is designed to significantly enhance the country’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to large-scale emergencies. “Last week, we launched a programme with LAMAT, their third in the country. They have been coming in and working with our doctors at different facilities to help us to improve capacity and more so, the types of surgeries and so that we’re doing.”

“This year, what we have seen is that they have added another component where they’ve brought on board the University of Miami. And the University of Miami is now going to help us to train some of our professionals in the area of mass casualty response.” Dr Anthony added that such preparedness is critical because, “you don’t know when these things can happen, but when they happen, we need to be prepared.” He emphasised that the inclusion of several agencies is central to strengthening national response systems. “We have people from all the regions. They are represented here. Some of them are emergency doctors. Others are nurses. And others are from other agencies… we have the police represented as well. We have the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the army. So these are the key partners, so anytime you’re responding to an emergency, these are the agencies that would be involved.” The training programme is being facilitated by experts from the University of Miami’s Global Institute for Community Health and Development, alongside the USAF medical teams under LAMAT. Associate Director for Disaster Management, Vincent Torres related that the four-day course which is known as the Basic Disaster Life Support (BDLS), is designed to give participants a comprehensive understanding of both natural and human-made disasters. He explained that the programme covers a wide range of scenarios, from flood and fire explosions and other complex emergencies. “It’s a certification programme, and this will allow the learners in the programme to get an overarching view of disasters, natural and manmade. So, we’re talking about preparations for anything from floods and fires to explosives and other man-made cause disasters. So, it’s a very high-level approach for this programme, which is the BDLS programme,” Torres explained. He added that participants will also receive training in stress management, triage and emergency medical interventions such as “Stop the Bleed” techniques to control severe hemorrhaging. Representing the US military partnerships, Mission Commander under LAMAT, Ted Liszeski, said the exercise is focused on strengthening the full chain of emergency care, from first responders in the field to hospital-based treatment teams. “We’re working with the teams so that, you know, currently a part of the mission that I bring to the table is with the United States Air Force is we’re taking care of at the hospitals. So, we have the initial part, like if there was a natural disaster or like, you know, flood or an oil spill or something like that we need the initial first responders to be there on site,” he explained. He added that the mission also emphasises interoperability between international and local partners. “It’s about working together and making sure systems are collaborative,” he said, noting that the exercise also strengthens US–Guyana cooperation in crisis response and medical readiness. The LAMAT mission is a broader health security cooperation engagement designed to strengthen partnerships, enhance medical readiness and improve access to care across the Caribbean region through sustained training and knowledge exchange.