Superintendent Levi Demah – “In collaboration with national government and foreign partners, is embarking on building health centers in more parts of Grand Bassa.”By Joaquin SendoloGrand Bassa County Superintendent Levi Demah says the lack of health facilities in rural parts of the county seriously impedes healthcare delivery, and is responsible for increasing maternal and neonatal deaths.Expressing the concern in his remarks at the opening of a two-day health conference in Buchanan, superintendent Demah said many pregnant women walk long distances, even up to four hours, to reach a health facility, a feat he said that is quite challenging in their condition.Realizing the challenges associated with scarcity of health facilities, he said his administration, in collaboration with national government and foreign partners, is embarking on building health centers in more parts of the county.There are over 150 participants attending the health conference in Buchanan with the majority being residents of the county. The superintendent urged participants to be bold to discuss health issues confronting them, adding that they must not forget “eye health” as blindness is affecting a number of people.The county health officer, Joseph Seika, described the brainstorming session as “unique” and said it was postponed on several occasions due to unforeseen circumstances.Maternal and child deaths, Dr. Seika noted, is a painful experience to “us who are on the frontline of providing healthcare services.” He challenged participants, comprising both community and health service providers from the eight health districts of the county to think critically about the causes of the increase in maternal and newborn deaths in Bassa in order “to mitigate the ugly situation.”Other personalities who made remarks during the opening of the two-day gathering were representatives from the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).On behalf of USAID, Lisa Childs pledged the continued support of her agency to the overall improvement of basic healthcare in the country. Dr. Philderald Pratt, representing UNFPA, observed that Grand Bassa County was on the right path by addressing issues affecting the health of mothers and newborns, which is a problem that involves all sectors of society.Dr. Pratt said, “Pregnancy is not a sickness, just a physiological change” adding, “she is not sick, so why die? All she needs is care to prevent her from sickness and diseases.”Reflecting on his time served as a medical doctor in Grand Bassa, Dr. Pratt praised the county leadership for taking steps to find solutions from within to the unacceptable maternal and child deaths.He added, “Solving your own problems is the best strategy because you can’t sit and wait for someone else from MOH or partners to address them.” He concluded by offering the UNFPA’s services to ensure improved healthcare for mothers and newborns.The conference is jointly organized by the Ministry of Health, the Grand Bassa County Health Team and health partners, with support from USAID funded Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP)/Restoration of Health Services project, and implemented by Jhpiego.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) read more

All Government-run hospitals in Region Six are continuing to experience shortages in medical supplies and drugs on a regular basis, and this is as a result of poor management procedures.This is according to Chairman of that Region, David Armogan, who during an interview with GuyanaTimes stated that while allocation of the necessary items is done centrally through the Materials Management Unit of the Public Health Ministry, many times his Region has to resort to its finances to purchase additional medical supplies and drugs.Region Six ChairmanDavid Armogan“This issue is recurrent and is affecting all hospitals here. Every now and then you keep hearing about shortages everywhere. Whenever there is a scarcity, then the Region will have to buy when (stocks go) down to zero,” he said.According to Armogan, the Regional Office has a limited amount of money that it can afford to spend on purchasing additional drugs and medical supplies for the various hospitals, and more often than not it cannot fill the void that is continuously being created.“The Region just doesn’t have a lot of money to keep doing this. These things are supposed to be done centrally and then brought to the regions. There is no proper procedure in place, and the system is not properly monitored,” the Regional Chairman explained.He lamented that many of the patients who seek treatment at these facilities are being turned away or sent to purchase the much needed medical drugs from private institutions. He said a number of them cannot afford to do this.“Things like gauze and other supplies which are used frequently to dress wounds are short. Even basic drugs like for persons with diabetes, hypertension and such are limited or in small amounts frequently. These are things which you see many patients coming to get help with, since they are common health issues in Guyana,” Armogan further added.He is of the belief that communication between the hospitals in Region Six and the MMU is poor, and until this situation is fixed, shortages will continue quite often.In April last, the Director of Regional Health Services (DRHS) of Region Six, Jevaughn Stephens, blamed poor communication for critical medical supplies not being stocked in sufficient quantities. Stephens had explained that while there was a shortage of critical drugs and medical supplies, the situation could have been rectified with proper communication. read more