From left: Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony; Dr. Andreas Schmid, Austrian Trade Commissioner; President Irfaan Ali; British High Commissioner Jane Miller and VAMED Managing Director Angelo Rizzuti turning sod for the construction of the hospital.
Hailed as the single largest investment in Guyana’s health sector, President Irfaan Ali turned the sod on July 31, 2022, for Guyana’s first specialized Paediatric and Maternal Hospital. With the construction of such a hospital, Ali said Guyana is on track to achieve its goal as a nation with world class health facilities with the highest standards.
The turn-key hospital, which is being financed by the United Kingdom’s export credit agency – UK Export Finance (UKEF), will be constructed by VAMED Engineering, an Austrian company which is a global provider for hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector. VAMED is partially owned by the Austrian government.
In 2021, Dr. Narendra Singh, Chair and President of Giving Health To Kids (GHTK) was appointed by President Ali as a Special Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr, Frank Anthony. This is a volunteer position and Dr. Singh is an integral advisor to the Minister and VAMED for this project.
Site of new hospital
The hospital is being constructed at a cost of $32b and will be constructed at Plots 7 and 8, Plantation Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, The low-rise facility will have 256 beds and will cover 24,000 square metres. President Ali disclosed that this is the country’s first ever UKEF financed program.
The building will be a four-storey structure, which will comprise of in-patient and out-patient services, a paediatric section, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), obstetrics department, operating suite, maternal section, pharmacy, laboratory and administration offices.
Artist’s impression of what the new Paediatric and Maternal Hospital will look like upon completion.
The Hospital will serve as the national specialist referral hospital for Children and would assist in the management of complicated paediatric, gynaecology and obstetrics cases.
When completed in two years, citizens will be able to benefit from State-of-the-art services dealing with point of conception all the way to adolescents and will draw great attention to the holistic approach with psycho-social support for children as well as their families during treatment
programs.
(above information taken from the Guyana News, August 1, 2022)
Dr. Singh spoke of his pride at being asked by President Ali to function as an Advisor for the new hospital build and noted that it reflects the work that Giving Health To Kids (GHTK) has undertaken in Guyana over the past 12 years. A key part of this work, Dr. Singh said, “has been listening and hearing what the people on the ground in Guyana have told us where they need our help.” “It has never been our intent as an organization to think we know best, and this has stood us in good stead with our colleagues in Guyana,” Dr. Singh said. During the construction, GHTK will continue to provide its advice and guidance.
Education Sessions
Last month, we told you about Dr. Cait Yeager’s recent visit to Guyana – we wanted to share some more photos of the teaching sessions held with the nurses.
Nurses with the Manuals of Pediatric Critical Care and Essentials of Pediatrics generously donated by Dr. Shirley Sit, Board Member, GHTK
In closing
As our summer gently turns to fall, we hope you will take a few moments to learn about the exciting developments that are happening in Guyana. We are so proud as an organization to be able to continue our work, and we have recently applied for a $2.5 million Grant in partnership with McMaster University to Global Health Canada. We should know in the coming months whether we are approved, and if we are, there is so much more we can do to change the lives of the families and babies we serve – to ensure that “every child deserves a tomorrow.” We want to give the smallest among us the same chance of survival that they would have in Canada.
We do very much need your continued support because as with the Grant received from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, GHTK also must provide its portion of funding for these grants.
The Board of Directors is currently looking at what our best strategies are to fundraise, and we will talk with you soon but in the meantime, we would encourage and appreciate your donation to enable GHTK to match the grant provided by the Royal College.
Just click on the link below and you will be directed to the website – you can make your donation on-line and will receive an immediate tax receipt.
