Guyana, Suriname hold simultaneous launch of Vaccination Week of the Americas at Corriverton

Apr 23, 2013 News

By Leon Suseran

The Guyana and Suriname Governments, yesterday launched the 12th Vaccination of the Americas Week simultaneously in the border town of Corriverton with a grand march that began at the Skeldon/Line Path Secondary School and ended at the Skeldon Hospital.
In attendance were several dignitaries from both countries, including Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran; both Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of Guyana and Suriname, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud and Dr. Martinez Ersel, a Surinamese Member of Parliament , Dr. Premdew Latchman; Director of Regional Health Services (DoRHS) in Suriname, Dr. Sarju and Pan American Health Organization Representatives including Ms. Jennifer Sanwigo of Washington.

Nurses march into the compound of the Skeldon Hospital during yesterday’s simultaneous Guyana-Suriname launch of VWA.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Vaccination: A shared responsibility.’
Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) is an annual effort by the member countries and territories of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to promote equity and access to immunization. VWA was initially proposed in April 23, 2002 under the presidency of Dr. Patricio Jamriska, Secretary of Health of the Republic of Ecuador and by the Ministers of Health in the Andean Region following a measles outbreak in Venezuela and Colombia.
VWA activities strengthen the national immunization programmes in the Americas by reaching out to populations with little access to regular health services, such as those populations living in urban fringes, rural and border areas and in indigenous communities.
Since its inception in 2003, more than 410 million individuals of all ages have been vaccinated during campaigns conducted under the framework of VWA.
Guyana’s health system offers 16 free health vaccines to the population, including Yellow Fever, Measles and Rubella. And at the launch, the country was praised for having nearly 100 per cent coverage, “comparable to any other developing country in the world where vaccinations are concerned”.
Region Six Chairman, David Armogan, 21 raised the fact that the vaccines are available free to the population of both Guyana and Suriname, since many Surinamese were said to have been accessing healthcare in Skeldon.
The CMO of Guyana, Dr. Persaud, stated that the simultaneous launch was a “great moment for Guyana and Suriname as we once again take another bold step, bringing our two health care systems together.” Both countries, he stated, should be proud to work hand-in-hand for the health sector.
Guyana has been working with all the countries of the Americas “and we are trying now to improve immunization so that those diseases that we vaccinate you against can be eliminated,” Persaud noted. The vaccines, he stated, are more than just a Ministry of Health initiative “to keep our population healthy.”
The VWA has emerged, he stated, as a main approach to ensure vaccines are given to everyone who needs to get them. “No one should be left behind and everyone should be protected with vaccines, once they are available.”
The Surinamese Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Martinez invited her Guyanese counterparts and all Guyanese to Nickerie next year for the launch of VMW where the two countries plan to launch the week simultaneously once more.
“We think how we can work better with the government of Guyana to ensure that all the children who cross the border are properly vaccinated”.
She noted, too, that the two countries ought to think carefully [of] “how we can fulfill our shared responsibility as two nations, towards the health of people at both sides of the Corentyne River.”
Surinamese Member of Parliament, Dr. Premdew Latchman, said that the 100 per cent coverage by vaccination is laudable. Suriname is closely in the nineties, too. “We have to share our knowledge and organize these kinds of occasions—Let us come together and meet and talk about the problems—because not only vaccination is important but we have seen that patients with chronic diseases, we have a lot of them—Guyanese in Nickerie have the same problem and …discuss and share knowledge”.
After the launch, which involved several school children, nurses and other health care practitioners, vaccination drives were held at several schools in Skeldon, Line Path and Crabwood Creek.
These will be ongoing throughout the week in Berbice and across the country.