MOH/PAHO team vaccinates 150 in Baracara, Canje

May 10, 2014 News

A high level medical team from the Ministry of Health visited the riverain community of Baracara, Canje River recently as part of Immunization Week activities in Region Six. Baracara is located some 50 miles up the Canje River, a tributary of the Berbice River.
It is the only Maroon community in Guyana, making it one of the most unique in the

The medical team that visited Baracara

country.
The team comprised Director Maternal and Child Health Services, Dr. Janice Woolford; Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Monica Sagala; Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Consultant Dr. Rosalinda Hernandez; and other members of the Maternal Care Health of the Ministry of Health.
More than 150 residents of the Canje River community turned up to be vaccinated along with young children and babies at the Baracara Health Centre.
Dr. Sagala of PAHO praised the residents for their vibrant community spirit. She stated that last December Health Vision 20/20 was launched. “It is a policy document that serves as a guiding light for strategies and health interventions to combat communicable and non- communicable diseases.”
She told the community of their responsibilities to take advantage of the opportunities of healthcare available. “At your end, you are receiving it free, but it is never really free—it costs something.”
Dr. Woolford congratulated the Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA) for the initiative. She highlighted the importance of being vaccinated against tetanus. She applauded the large number of men of Baracara who turned out to the activity.
She urged them to ensure that their wives visit the clinic with their children. “Our mission is that we want to have healthy mothers and healthy families and it is only possible with you men.”
She called on the residents to “make it their business” to get people into the clinics if they are not already enrolled.
PAHO Consultant, Dr. Hernandez said that while some herbal treatments are good, there are some diseases that cannot be taken away from the body “if you do not use some specific medicine.”

A child is vaccinated

“The best is to prevent, and I congratulate Guyana and this community and Dr. Mahadeo and team…because the best way to prevent this is through vaccination.”
Chief Executive Officer of the BRHA, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, who is a Member of Parliament, said that the Baracara Health Centre is one of the facilities in Guyana offering healthcare based on the Package of Publicly Guaranteed Health Services in Guyana, implemented with help from PAHO in 2009. “Health is your right,” he said.
The idea of a Baracara Day was proposed to the residents. Dr. Mahadeo added that he will ask that the President attends. “You are a special people,” he told the residents.