Health education learning materials updated – PALTEX programme launched
GINA, GUYANA, Friday, September 16, 2016
The Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) has collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) to launch the Expanded Textbook and Instructional Materials Programme (PALTEX) in Guyana.
The implementation of the programme will serve as a mechanism that will provide high quality instructional materials at efficient and effective costs to students using them.
The Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) resident representative, Dr. William Adu-Krow hands over instructional and educational learning materials to Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings
The Ministry of Public Health will now adopt the programme, placing emphasis on providing updated educational and instructional materials to strengthen universal health coverage systems.
Director of Regional Health Services of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kay Shako in noting the timeliness of PALTEX’s launch said, “it comes at a time when Guyana is building capacity in the most needed areas like nursing, educational, clinical, and technical programmes, medex, community health worker programme, multi-purpose technicians and environmental health officials’ programme.”
PALTEX is a PAHO technical cooperation programme which had been supporting human resources education development for more than four decades.
PAHO/WHO resident representative Dr. William Adu-Krow noted that, “they did a review and came up with the fact, whether it’s the universities, whether it’s the nurses’ colleges, some of them were having books dating as far back as latter part of 1980, and we keep talking about the fact that nursing students are not doing too well. If that is the case, then we must give them the tools to prepare them better.”
Director of Regional Health Services, Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kay Shako hands over learning materials to a student nurse
Dr. Adu-Krow also urged the Ministry of Public Health to upgrade learning facilities and amenities within the Public Health education programme including better internet bandwidth and service provision since some learning materials under the PALTEX programme can be made available online.
The PAHO/WHO representative added, “I must say, I see nursing students here but PALTEX is not only for nursing students, PALTEX is for anybody working in the health area, so whether they are medical students, whether they are doctors in practice, whether they are medical technologists, whether they are medex, whether they are dentists, they all have a use for PALTEX so it is my hope even those who are not resident here, will also benefit.”
The Ministry of Public Health will further support the PALTEX programme by upgrading health education learning facilities through updated materials available to those in the health sector. The programme will also train medical personnel in becoming more familiar in health sciences education.
The mission of PALTEX through PAHO/WHO is to contribute to the development of education human resources for the health sector, in order to achieve the strengthening of care in the Region of the Americas.