Georgetown : Japanese Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Yoshimasa Tezuka on Friday, handed over a US $97,300 grant to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) under Japan’s Grant assistance for Grassroot Human Project (GGP). This will be used to better equip the paediatric ward with monitor, ventilators and infusion pumps.
GPHC is a national referral hospital which provides quality care for every Guyanese without a charge.
According to GPHC’s, Chief Executive Officer, Michael Khan who spoke briefly at the ceremony at the hospital’s conference room, over the last five years there has been a total of 12,090 children in the paediatric ward and 5,175 babies in the maternity unit.
Khan said that the funds will be use to procure the items which were chosen by the nursing service department. One of the most important items is the ventilator which will help to improve the quality of care offered to children.
“As we get better, more and more children will be coming to the hospital to seek care and especially now that we have the equipment the private hospitals are sending children to GPHC,” said Khan. Since the programme started, neo-natal deaths have reduced to 50 percent.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds stated that Japan has been a steady supporter to Guyana generally and expressed satisfaction that again the country is providing assistance even though it is still recovering from a disaster that killed many of its citizens.
Mr. Hinds pointed out that this is a demonstration of a people-people grassroot relationship. “We should be touched and moved ourselves, and we should never have the feeling that we have so little that we can’t help anyone” he said.
He reflected on some of the support Guyana has received and expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for its support.
The Japanese Ambassador reiterated that the grant will extend support to activities at GPHC as they seek to improve the quality of neo-natal services. He explained that GGP is designed to promote human security in the world by assisting non-profitable organisations and its programme targets areas that endeavour to improve basic human needs.
Ambassador Tezuka mentioned that the hospital will be better equipped to provide improved services to vulnerable children in need of adequate medical care to save their lives.
