Region Seven gets 19 new Community Health Workers

Min Frank Anthony, members of the Ministry of Health, and the graduating class

The five-month programme, which started on April 11, 2022, was collaborated between the Ministry of Health and the Region Seven Regional Democratic Council.

Saturday’s graduation was held at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic.

The valedictorian was Rattena Mohamed. There were six distinctions, 12 credits and one pass.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, while congratulating the graduating batch, encouraged them to continue improving in the health profession, as there will always be something new to discover.

He urged the graduating class to use the knowledge gained to better serve their communities.

“One of the things that we’re doing at the Ministry of Health is that we’d like to see more trained professionals. And you would notice that we’re not having these classes where you have to travel to Georgetown. But instead, we’re bringing the tutors to you, so that you could be trained right in the region,”  advised the minister.

During the Hoyte government all the ten administrative regions ran their own programme. In  Region Two, the programme was held at the Suddie Court House, on the Essequibo Coast; in Georgetown, it was done at Liliendaal on the East Coast Demerara, to name some .

Some of those health care workers later went on to midwifery and other professions in the health field.

Regional Health Officer, Dr Edward Sagala, encouraged the graduating class to always provide quality service within their communities and seek help when they have doubts about an issue.

Deputy Director, Health Sciences Education, Chandroutie Persaud encouraged the new workers to be agents of change within their communities. She noted, “Today marks the pinnacle of your efforts. You’re now qualified to be a part of an extended team of healthcare workers with one common goal and that goal is to improve access to public health in your communities…Becoming a community health worker is not only a job but should be viewed as an honour to help your community to become more health conscious. You would be their go to person.”

Meanwhile, Health Education Officer, Petal Gordon noted that this is the third batch of decentralised community health workers trained in the region, however, this was the first time that the revised curriculum was used in that region. The curriculum consisted of two phases, a community phase (health centre attachment) and a classroom phase.

Basic anatomy and physiology, English, disease surveillance, vector control, common illnesses, nutrition, first aid, maternal and child health and integrated management of childhood illnesses are some of the areas covered during the programme.