Epidemiology, entomology lab, Gold Board Head office soon

―Sod turned for construction to begin shortly

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, February 12, 2020

The construction of buildings to house the Ministry of Public Health’s Epidemiology and Entomology Laboratory and the Guyana Gold Board’s (GGB) Head Office in one compound will soon begin.

The shared space will allow miners to get screened for malaria when they go to sell their gold. The move follows an agreement between the ministries of public health and natural resources.

Minister of Public health Volda Lawrence and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman turns the sod to initiate construction of the two buildings

The plot of land where the sod has been turned

At Wednesday’s sod turning, Minister of Public Health, Hon. Volda Lawrence said the lab would ensure the “rollout of more activities such as mosquito capture and identification, testing for the resistance to insecticides which are currently used, and most importantly, to carry out our research activities.”

The cost of construction and equipping the state of art laboratory would range between $300M-$400M and will carry a staff complement of 50.

Also, in attendance were Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman, GGB Chairman Gabriel Lall and other board members, and GGB General Manager, Eondrene Thompson.

The buildings will be located at the site of the health ministry’s former Medex building on the Rupert Craig Highway, Liliendaal.