Accurate data of cross-border movement likely with Guyana/Suriname collaboration

Jul 13, 2013 News

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There is no accurate data available by either the Port Authorities of Guyana or Suriname to determine the movement of persons between territories. At least this was the deduction forthcoming at a press conference following a ceremony to kick-off a Bi-National meeting between the two countries at the Guyana International Conference Centre yesterday.
The meeting, which comes as part of efforts to embrace frontier health by strengthening the exchange of health information, commenced quietly on Thursday and is set to conclude today.
But even as the ambitious engagement took its course yesterday, Health Minister of Suriname, Dr Michel Blokland, was the first to admit that “our Government does not have the exact data of who is coming in and out of the country especially in the borders that we have.”

Suriname, according to Dr Blokland, has borders that are “kind of open and they are very difficult to control because of the vast area that you have to cover and the little resources that you have…”
Guyana and Suriname share a common border which is linked by the Corentyne River.The river originates in the Acarai Mountains and flows northward for approximately 724 km (450 mi) between Guyana and Suriname, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Corriverton, Guyana (or at Molseson Creek) and Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname.
A ferry service operates between these two towns but people have been known to opt for the “backtrack” route via speedboats.  The latter travellers are usually undocumented.
It is for this reason, he said that moves have been made to put in place a system whereby official documentation will be collected and compiled into a single database accessible to the relevant authorities.
With this system in place, the Surinamese Health Minister said that officials will not only be able to determine how many persons would have entered the territory over a period of time, but ascertain if any of them would have visited the health system regarding their health status.
Like Guyana, Suriname has embraced the importance of primary health care, which according to Dr Blokland, “is the best way to improve equitable health and contain the high costs of specialist care.”
Even as moves are made to strengthen its primary health care system, Dr Blokland, during his address at the start of the Bi-National meeting, said that there is yet a need to refer patients to secondary care.
Moreover, he said that construction of a district hospital in Albina, at the French border has started and plans are apace for another such facility in the district of Wanica with the assistance of the Chinese.
“Our concern with reaching individuals with healthcare extends to those migrants living and working in our country, many of which make a considerable contribution to our economy,” said Dr Blokland.
He alluded to the complex setting of the gold-mining areas and the lack of documentation of some of the migrants as some of the factors that make the delivery of healthcare a difficult task.
As such he said that “we have to be very innovative…This is on the agenda and we will discuss this over the course of the meeting.”
The Surinamese Health Minister is confident that his country has many experiences worth sharing and according to him “by putting our heads together, we will also identify options to strengthen our health systems and find solutions to reach all populations, including migrants and mobile populations, with the health services that they are in need of.”
According to local Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, it was in recognition of the traceability limitation that moves to collaborate were forged.
He noted, too, that migrant populations have long been recognised as key and critical issues.
Moreover, he dubbed yesterday’s meeting as an “oppotune moment” even as he observed that this is the first time that the two countries have been involved in such a high level meeting.
He noted too that despite there have be many “people to people” contact, officialdom has been greatly lacking hence the need for intensified collboration.
With specific reference to the Guyana/Suriname border, Minister Ramsaran said that because data is difficult to obtain “that is why we are promoting cross border cooperation in an official capacity.”
This, he said, could include the simple exchange of vaccination information even as he noted that both countries are known to have vibrant vaccination programmes.
“This is a work in progress and we recognise that it needs to be strengthened and that is exactly why we are having these types of meeting for us to try to fill some of these gaps,” said Minister Ramsaran.
In the interim though, Dr Ramsaran said that both countries will continue to offer health care service at border hospitals that are already in place.
While the collaboration between the two countries will be funded for at least the next few years by the supporting agencies, the Government of Guyana will certainly play a role too, said Minister Ramsaran, who is optimistic that budgetary provision will be made.
The Bi-National meeting was streamlined by the the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the German International Cooperation (GIZ), EPOS Health Management, which is headquartered in Germany, the Ministries of Health of Guyana and Suriname along with CARICOM, PAHO and other agencies.
The meeting, which saw the attendance of a number of technical officials from both countries’ Health Ministries, was graced by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Caricom’s Director of Sustainable Development, Mr Garfield Barnwell. Both officials delivered brief remarks.

 

 

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