Georgetown : The first Canada-Guyana Medical Partnership Coalition’s fundraiser and silent auction was last night held at the Canadian High Commissioner’s Residence to garner funds for Guyana Help the Kids (GHTK).
The event was the manifestation of the Canada- Guyana Medical Partnership which serves to raise funds for medical joint ventures between the two countries.
The Coalition will annually select one of its partners for support, and the High Commission will host a fundraiser for the chosen organisation in February of every year.
This Coalition was established and spearheaded by the Canadian High Commission to facilitate the exploration of synergies, fostering of coherence and maximising of resources among the Canadian medical partnerships working in Guyana.
It aims to avoid the pitfall of costly wheel reinvention and to identify priorities and gaps, so that the delivery of medical services is as targeted and as effective as possible.
The Coalition also allows the sharing of best practices and ensures a smoother flow of information to the main stakeholder, including the Ministry of Health and the Canadian High Commission.
Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, in his remarks at the event said that this was another manifestation of the good and growing relationship between the two countries.
He added this is a part of the evidence based approach by the Government of Guyana to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Meanwhile Canadian High Commissioner Dr. Nicole Giles said she was very impressed with the number of Canadian-Guyanese medical partnerships that are working to develop the local health sector.
Dr. Narendra Singh, founder of GHTK, extended his gratitude to Dr. Giles and Minister Ramsaran for hosting the event.
Dr. Singh noted that Guyana has made great strides towards reducing under five mortality, and highlighted that through the partnership between GHTK and the Ministry, a 24-bed state of the art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was developed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), while two smaller ones were commissioned at the New Amsterdam and Linden Hospitals. The first programme saw a reduction in neonatal deaths at GPHC by 40% translating into about 60-80 more babies surviving than the previous year.
GHTK is a Canadian registered charity that was established by Dr. Narendra Singh, a Canadian based Guyanese with the aim of reducing neonatal and infant mortality in Guyana.
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