Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and WHO Regional Director for the Americas, Dr Jarbas Barbosa, at a recently held PAHO/WHO Meeting
Guyana has received official correspondence from Dr Jarbas Barbosa, World HealthOrganization (WHO) Regional Director for the Americas, congratulating the country for itsexceptional immunisation coverage for 2023.
The letter received stated, “The Pan American Health Organization/World HealthOrganization (PAHO/WHO) wishes to congratulate the Co-operative Republic of Guyanafor the encouraging results in routine immunization coverage obtained in the last year, asreported in the Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) published byWHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)”.
Under the Expanded Programme on Immunization, the Ministry of Guyana currentlyadministers vaccines for 17 antigens: Whooping Cough, Measles, Poliomyelitis, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Mumps, Rubella, Haemophilus Influenza Type b, Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal, Meningococcal, Human Papilloma Virus, Varicella.
Although the country is divided into 10 administration regions, with four of them being classified as hinterland regions and are hard-to-reach and sparsely populated, the Ministry of Health through its strategies and interventions have managed to stay on top of its countrywide vaccination programme.
Guyana’s success reflects the dedication of leadership and healthcare professionals, thestrength of the healthcare system, and the government’s commitment to health investment.
This achievement is important in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases and epidemics and ensuring that key sectors continue to thrive without setbacks caused by public health crises.
This success has contributed to the Region of the Americas being the only WHO region tosurpass immunisation coverage levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there is a need for continued progress to maintain this momentum, restore theregion to the forefront of global immunisation coverage, and advance strategies to eliminate communicable diseases.
Despite the positive outcomes at the national level, PAHO/WHO emphasises the importanceof achieving consistent coverage across all regions of Guyana, through the use of a detailedinternal analysis. With support from their technical cooperation, which includes innovativestrategies, it will allow Guyana to reach underserved populations and overcome barriers toaccessing vaccination services.
PAHO/WHO in its congratulatory letter reiterates its commitment to supporting Guyana inadvancing vaccination efforts and all initiatives that contribute to consolidating andenhancing immunisation recovery.
