Latest update January 18th, 2025 7:00 AM
PAHO aims to improve technical support
In order to plot the way forward for its 2010-2011 biennial work programme, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) yesterday held a consultation with various stakeholders.
And this has been the practice every two years, according to PAHO’s Renee Franklin-Peroune.
She said that plotting the way forward is usually characteristic of several meetings and discussions with counterparts across the country.
A section of the gathering at the consultation
At the start of yesterday’s proceedings, she said that the forum is of utmost importance as it affords PAHO an opportunity to share with stakeholders its proposed plan to respond to the National Health agenda and other sector development plans it supports.
And in recognition of the fact that health stretches across sectors, Franklin-Peroune spoke of the need for the expansion of partnership in order to achieve national development in general.
As such she expressed optimism that beneficial discussions were anticipated yesterday that could ensure that the next work programme responds to national needs.
And according to PAHO Country Representative, Dr Kathleen Israel, the effort of PAHO is based on technical co-operation even as she emphasised the fact that the international entity is not a funding agency.
According to her, PAHO is the oldest public health organisation in the world, a fact she noted often comes as a surprise to some persons.
“PAHO preceeds the League of Nations and the World Health Organisation by about 15 years or more. It is an organisation that we are very proud of and for half of its lifetime Guyana has had a PAHO/WHO presence in the country almost 50 years.”
And because the technical entity values partnership, Dr Israel underscored the need to plan the technical co-operation programme with the support of stakeholders which she noted is requirement.
This move, she said, serves to ensure that PAHO by itself does not plan for the country but rather with officials within a country.
Dr Israel said that while the process is interesting, at the same time it is very complex as it not only responds to global and regional public health imperatives but also national public health imperatives.
However, she acknowledged that “to find a happy medium between those three levels and to make sure that the programme in Guyana remains relevant to the needs of the country, it is quite a challenge.”
According to Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, through the consultation “we have an opportunity to spy a little bit into the future to look at what the next biennial brings in terms of our partnership with PAHO and WHO.”
He highlighted that the programme is a genuine partnership for health, thus PAHO is not merely trying to help the Health Ministry to execute its programme but rather it is rendering assistance to ensure that health in Guyana is improved.
Dr Ramsammy noted that it is now quite clear that previous difficulties were based on the fact that “in a different era we simply worked and we ‘band-aid’ health but really didn’t know what our goals were.”
However, this time around specific goals have been set, he said. And the overarching goal, he added, is that life expectancy must be increased.
A milestone of 2015 has been set to see the life expectancy rate in Guyana being increased to the age of 75.
Yesterday’s forum which was held at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara, was intended to enhance knowledge of the PAHO/WHO programme planning process and to review the draft biennial plan as well as to obtain feedback on how to better the programme.
Among the participants yesterday were representatives from various sections of the Health Ministry, the Ministries of Education and Local Government.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Burnham must be having a good laugh
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Each week, the more Bharrat Jagdeo speaks, the more the lines between party and government... more
Clarifying misconceptions about the Panama Canal
Sir Ronald Sanders (Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS) By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News–... more
Weekend Cartoon
