Canadian-based Guyanese in drive to reduce child mortality rates

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony recently visited Toronto, Canada to participate in a Guyana Help The Kids (GHTK) fundraiser.
The organisation, which began two years ago as the brainchild of Guyanese-born Humber River Regional Hospital Chief Paediatric Dr Narendra Singh, has set itself the goal of reducing infant mortality in Guyana. It is credited with reducing the child mortality rate at the Georgetown Public Hospital by 40 per cent thus far.
Through Dr Singh, a team of some 27 faculty members from the University of Toronto and McMaster’s university regularly travel to Guyana at their own expense to train Guyanese doctors and nurses.
The fundraiser was attended by some 600 persons and the International Development Relief Foundation (IDRF) committed Cdn $ 25,000 in support of the worthy cause.
Other on the spot donations included the Brampton Flower City Centennial Rotary Club which gave Cdn $ 2000 and the Dhaman Kissoon Golf Tournament which donated twice that amount.
Dr Anthony thanked the GHTK and Dr Singh for inviting him to the event and for the opportunity to share a few thoughts with those in attendance.
The minister told the audience that “Guyana welcomes all of you, to contribute to its development. Guyana Help The Kids has demonstrated how it can be done. Let us use this model as a best practice and I hope it inspires others to do similar good deeds.”
He noted that the infant mortality rate is estimated by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality to be over 4000 per day, of which neonatal mortality accounts for a significant amount of that number.
This problem affects developing countries the most as they are constrained by a lack of financial and technical resources. He said that the GHTK initiative is already proving to be a tremendous success with 103 less maternal deaths last year in Guyana. Even greater gains are expected as the programme takes deeper root with the GHTK infusing new knowledge and technology, ushering in new clinical standards, and training and developing Guyanese professionals to take ownership and leadership in the programme.
This collaboration between the GHTK and the government of Guyana has created the first homegrown paediatric post graduate programme. “Very soon we will create medical education history in Guyana by graduating the first batch of paediatricians,” he added to the applause of the audience.
“Having these specialists stay and practice in Guyana will certainly improve the quality of care and will have a significant impact on child morbidity or mortality.” The minister added: “Guyana has asked Dr Singh and the GHTK to expand this programme to all our regional hospitals, and being such Good Samaritans, they have agreed.”