Guyana to host “well-being” conference to target mental health

Guyana, in collaboration with the US based National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) with assistance from Columbia University, is set to host a “well-being” conference targeting mental health.

The conference will be held from November 8and 11 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), and will see a number of local and international presentations.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said the event is being funded by Fogarty’s International Center.

“The international people are of some of the highest calibre in mental health because Columbia University has served as WHO mental health sub-center, and our coordinating center for mental health, and we are benefiting from their expertise. So, they are going to have several projects and they are going to unveil the kinds of projects that they will be doing here with us,” he noted.

The conference has a packed agenda and will commence at 8 am and ends at 6 pm daily.

“Some of those presentations would include the top experts in the world on mental health. There will be presenting on different aspects.  So, whether it’s the epidemiology of different mental health conditions, or the newest techniques to understand some of these diseases using molecular science to understand whether there is any effect or epi -genetics in some cases to understand, you know how they knew or think about these particular diseases,’’ he said.

The minister is urging persons interested in participating to do so. He said registration is free.  

“It’s not only for professional people. If you have an interest in mental health you can check it out and make sure you register yourself. For those persons who are unable to attend in person because they’ll have a limitation on how many persons can actually be at the convention center, those persons can join online,” the minister said.