Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM
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Top Vector Control officials withdraw resignations
– to continue efforts to help reduce malaria prevalence
The resignations of four senior vector control officials within the Ministry of the Public Health’s Vector Control Services Unit have been rescinded.
Dr. Reyaud Rahman and other Vector Control officials have withdrawn their resignations.
This development comes weeks after this publication had reported that these officials, including the Unit’s Director, Dr. Reyaud Rahman, had tendered their resignations leaving the Unit with an administrative void.
Reports had suggested that the resignations were linked to an audit that was being conducted within the Unit, to ascertain whether there was deliberate manipulation of figures to suggest a sharp decline in malaria cases.
For instance, in 2013 there were close to 32,000 malaria cases reported, while in 2014 there were reportedly just over 11,000 cases.
“There must be some reason for the big drop because that is alarming, and it tells us that something is not right because they have not changed their strategies,” Dr. George Norton, Minister of Public Health, had told this publication following the resignations.
Dr. Norton had however, only assumed the position of Minister of Public Health a few months earlier and might not have been, at the time of his comment, aware of the tactics that were employed by the Unit, to help bring down the cases of malaria.
This publication had however, reported extensively on the measures that were employed by the Unit to tackle soaring cases of malaria.
Dr. Rahman in an interview with this publication had shared that “we needed to go in a different direction; we had to have a new approach.” This new approach involved improved structure and more engagement with the population and other agencies.
He informed that agencies such as the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, and the Forestry Commission had collaborated with the Vector Control Services Unit to realise the results gained.
“We allowed everyone to come on board…we explained that while this was our fight it’s a bigger fight and we needed help,” Rahman had disclosed.
He went on, “We did mass smears, we did mass work, we distributed a lot of nets and materials and tried to educate people as much as possible…We continued doing our work and put all the effort in 2012.”
In 2013 we pushed even harder and in 2014 we saw a dramatic decrease because of the work we were doing.”
Rahman asserted that the number of cases was cut by more than half in just a year. The decline in cases was earlier this year being validated by Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, who noted that the introduction of a new rapid malaria test might have been instrumental in helping to detect cases faster, and allow for immediate treatment thus allowing for a reduction in cases.
However this publication has learnt that the CMO has since been mandated to take accumulated leave. It is not clear if he was able to validate the cases before proceeding on leave.
A report on the findings of the recent audit, which thoroughly examined the work of the Vector Control Unit, is yet to be made available to the Public Health Ministry.
However, a senior official within the Ministry yesterday disclosed that the concerns relating to allegations of “doctoring of the malaria figures” was linked to an internal fight among staffers within the Unit.
This development had reportedly resulted in many unsavoury accusations being levelled against the senior officials who had inked their concerns to the Heads of the Ministry.
The officials, this publication was told, decided to tender their resignations to emphasise their frustration.
The resignations had resulted in an internal investigation which revealed that concerns raised about the decline in cases, might not have been valid since there is evidence to suggest that the reduction in the cases of malaria is believed to have been due to “very sincere” efforts.
In light of this, the officials were asked to withdraw their resignations.
This publication was also told yesterday that it is expected that the Vector Control Unit, with Dr. Rahman in charge, will soon introduce some new measures to help further reduce the cases of malaria and other vector borne diseases.
In fact, the Unit is poised to soon introduce more environmentally friendly solutions to aid its vector control efforts. This is likely to even see a reduction in tactics such as fogging and residual spraying.
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