Health care professionals honoured for HIV/AIDS work in hinterland

Dec 07, 2015 News

The National Aids programme Secretariat (NAPS) on Thursday rewarded nine health care practitioners for their outstanding work in the hinterland regions.
The awards ceremony, which was held at the Regency Hotel on Hadfield Street, saw 10 awards being handed out to nurses and medexes for their work in HIV/AIDS care in Guyana’s interior locations.
Awards were presented to Lorraine Gilkes, Sharon Rudie, Dawn Dunn, Natasha Torres, Lolita Rebeiro, Henry Lenski, Juliet Willie, Winston Williams and Leola Barnes.

Minister George Norton (5th from left) with awardees after the ceremony.

Public Health Minister George Norton stated that it was important to honour health workers. He said nurses and medexes are often forgotten yet some of them continue to serve their communities to the best of their abilities.
“Our nurses, community health workers, laboratory technicians are some who tirelessly work in face of numerous infrastructural, cultural and economic challenges in the hinterland regions, yet continue to serve their communities with distinction, delivering service of the highest quality,” he noted.
Norton promised to work diligently to ensure that residents of the hinterland receive excellent health care.
Further, he stated the government of Guyana remains committed toward the elimination of the epidemic.
“We will end AIDS in our country,” he said.
A posthumous award was also presented for the late Zenita Nicholson, a human rights activist for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community. Nicholson committed suicide a month ago.