Guyana is taking on a new regional leadership role in health, assuming the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Special Commission on Health in the Amazon (CESAM).
The transition took place during the eighth Extraordinary Meeting of CESAM, with Guyana taking over from Ecuador as chair of the commission within the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony represented Guyana during the virtual meeting.
The appointment gives Guyana an opportunity to influence cooperation among Amazonian countries on some of the region’s most pressing health challenges, including infectious diseases, climate-related threats, access to healthcare and the health needs of Indigenous and traditional communities.
Guyana has identified the operationalisation of CESAM’s three permanent sub-commissions as an immediate priority. Their areas of focus include digital health, environmental and gender issues; priority and emerging diseases; and intercultural health and traditional medicine.
Dr Anthony also highlighted Suriname’s experience in eliminating malaria as an example of the kind of regional knowledge-sharing that could benefit other Amazonian countries.
The timing is important. The Amazon faces distinctive health challenges created by its enormous geographic distances and difficult access to healthcare. Climate change is also contributing to changing disease patterns and increasing pressure on vulnerable communities.
CESAM is also working toward creating a health module within the Amazon Regional Observatory. The initiative could improve the availability and exchange of health information among member countries and support more evidence-based decision-making.
Guyana has proposed using the upcoming Pan American Health Organization Directing Council meeting at the end of September as an opportunity to bring CESAM representatives together in person.
The new responsibility adds another dimension to Guyana’s expanding regional diplomatic profile.
The country has simultaneously been seeking stronger relationships across South America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. Its relationship with Qatar, for example, has been described by President Irfaan Ali as evolving into a “partnership of purpose,” encompassing investment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism.
The CESAM presidency therefore provides Guyana with more than a ceremonial regional role. It offers an opportunity to demonstrate whether the country can convert its growing diplomatic influence into practical cooperation that improves the lives of people across the Amazon.
For Guyana, the measure of success will ultimately be whether its leadership produces tangible advances in disease prevention, healthcare access, information sharing and cooperation among neighbouring countries.
