Guyana to benefit from US$5m disaster relief project

Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, on Monday, August 18, 2008, welcomed a US$5 million disaster relief project for which Guyana and several other Caribbean countries which are members of the Caribbean Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) are beneficiaries, to better respond to disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods and which result in the loss of lives.

A release from the Ministry of Health stated that the project is funded by the European Union and is expected to help countries develop laws to address disaster management, improve technological responses and create public awareness and education.

The project will also facilitate training for personnel from member countries. The release further stated that the Health Minister noted that Guyana's health sector will benefit, but special considerations must be made for local peculiarities, since Guyana is not affected by most of the natural disasters that other Caribbean countries face.

He noted that most of the time, Guyana faces flooding, as opposed to sister countries that deal with hurricanes and earthquakes.

On the issue of training, Ramsammy noted that the emphasis for the health sector would be on internal and local training, so that the capacity to respond to disasters in the 10 Administrative Regions could be boosted.

Guyana also has a disaster preparedness plan, a component of which deals with health responses to disasters.

(Caribbean Net News)