Guyana hosts first Farm Day for children with type 1 diabetes at GSA

Georgetown, Guyana: The Ministry of Health’s Chronic Disease Unit, in collaboration with the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), hosted its first-ever Farm Day Activity for children and young adolescents living with Type 1 diabetes on July 26, 2023 (Wednesday).

The one-day event was held at the GSA Auditorium, Mon–Repos, East Coast of Demerara. The event saw approximately forty (40) participants being engaged in tours at the GSA and NAREI.

The MOH seized the opportunity to also raise awareness and educate on the management of Type 1 diabetes.

Duri his feature address, Advisor to the Minister of Health and President of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Commission, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, assured the gathering that the MOH is keeping up with the advances and technologies that are now being made for the treatment and management of diabetes, according to the update shared by Ministry.

“We want to make sure that we use all technologies available; sometimes it’s ahead of our capacity to do so, but as soon as it is possible, Guyana today wants to make sure that every technology, every treatment and every technique will be utilised. We don’t want to be a country that is ten years behind developed countries”, he noted.

Dr Ramsammy emphasised that Guyana will not allow recourse constraints to delay the introduction of effective technology and effective treatment, whether for the prevention or management of diabetes.

In closing, Dr Ramsammy disclosed that they are seventy-nine (79) children with Type 1 diabetes who have since been registered within the Diabetic Registry and advocated for parents that have children with this condition and are not yet registered to visit the nearest Health Centre to be enrolled.

Meanwhile, the Director of Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr Lachmie Lall, announced that soon the MOH will be rolling out a programme that focuses on Continuous Glucose Monitors Testing.

“The MOH is here to support life as a Type 1 Diabetic, and in the coming months, we will be rolling out the Continuous Glucose Monitors Testing programme. Currently, we’re in the process of exploring this, and if it’s the best possible option for the children, we’ll start with this small coherent of patients and see how they manage”, Dr Lall said.

The attendees included the Chief Executive Officer of Guyana School of Agriculture, Gavin Ramnarine; the President of the Guyana Diabetic Association (GDA), Glynis Beaton; Technical Officer of Diabetes, Dr Nandishaw Ramsingh, among other staff of the MoH and GSA.