Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 26, 2014 APNU Column, Features / Columnists
President Donald Ramotar’s broadcast to the nation last Friday, 17th October, was necessary but did not go far enough. The President indicated that his government is aware of the international alarm over the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in certain West African countries. This has been reported for the past six months. Whether he is prepared to do what is necessary to counter the threat to the Guyanese nation is another matter.
President Ramotar, given the speed and ease of international travel these days and the virulence of the disease, must do more to convince the population at large that his administration is really ready to deal with the EVD threat. Guyana’s public health system might not have been as badly damaged as those of Sierra Leone and Liberia, which were battered by civil wars and which are the most seriously affected by the epidemic, but is not efficient. The local government system here, also, is broken.
EVD knows no borders in the ‘globalised’ environment in which modern countries must operate. The disease first emerged 38 years ago in the remote, sparsely populated hinterland of Central Africa. Its presence in populous West African coastal states has now indicated that it could affect urban and rural populations as well. The present state of regional, municipal and neighbourhood councils in this country where central government has eviscerated legitimate local government organs will impede community responses to the disease.
Ministerial reactions have been uninspiring. Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, though warned of the gravity of the public health threat, has reacted slowly. The Ministry – in the case of the still raging Chikungunya disease – let the population down. So far, except for some spotty training, it has failed to promulgate a comprehensive national plan and to launch a national campaign.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett’s sweeping directive on 9th September to Guyana’s embassies and consulates, “…not to issue visas to nationals from certain West African countries,” is unfocussed and unhelpful. Persons whose travels did not necessarily originate in the scheduled countries could have been infected and could, therefore, beat the Minister’s ban and could be capable of transmitting the virus.
The People’s Progressive Party Civic administration’s approach to EVD is ad hoc, uncoordinated and unsatisfactory. The PPPC must deliver a convincing and comprehensive plan.
The President’s promise “… to seek maximum cooperation” and to invite “leaders of all parliamentary political parties and civil society to join forces with the government in a national response to prepare and protect our people from the deadly Ebola disease” is still to happen. The task of educating and engaging the entire nation about the danger of the disease should not be underestimated. Communities must be enabled to maintain sanitary surroundings and persons must be taught hygienic practices.
Surveillance must be improved at formal ports of entry to prevent infected persons from entering and to protect the population. It will not be enough, however, to screen only legitimate passengers at official ports. Guyana’s well-known, notorious, illegal backtrack routes must also be closed. The government will need to consider constructing ‘retention centres’ at ports of entry for quarantining and monitoring persons who are suspected of having been exposed to the virus.
There has to be a single national plan of action to contain the disease and to exercise control and coordinate the efforts of the government, civil airlines and the population. This is necessary to oversee the activation of neighbourhood, regional and national public health response and to recruit, equip and train volunteers. The government must act quickly to train more personnel and to acquire sufficient medical supplies ¯ including personal protective equipment such as face shields, masks, goggles, gowns and gloves ¯ in order to be better prepared to protect the population.
EVD spreads through human-to-human transmission. The disease can be fatal if untreated. There must therefore be early diagnosis of infection and prompt supportive care. There must also be better laboratory services than exist at present. There must also be strong systems for case management, contact-tracing and safe burials.
APNU reaffirms its total commitment to protect the population from any threat to public health. APNU is prepared to work with the Government and civil society in order to achieve this goal. APNU calls for the immediate promulgation of a national plan of action to respond to the threat of entry of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) into Guyana.
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