More support needed for small states in COVID fight – President Granger
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, May 28, 2020
His Excellency, President David Granger has called for extra-ordinary financing to be directed to support small states given the “multi-dimensional nature of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Head of State made the call on Thursday during his presentation on the United Nations high-level meeting organised to tackle the critical issue and of financing and development amid and post-COVID-19.
President Granger recommended that the support to small nations be handled in three ways.
“Respond immediately to the lifesaving exudences of the pandemic, develop holistic long-term recovery plans and exit strategies and build capacity to establish permanent public health structure to prepare for future international diseases such as we have seen over the last decade.”
He reminded that Guyana borders countries which have recorded high infection rates of the novel coronavirus and as a result, migrants “enter our territories in areas which necessitate the delivery of effective health services over long distances and to remote settlements.”
According to the President, these factors impact the country’s ability to protect its people from disease and to earn revenue to maintain its economy. He further emphasised that long and short-term solutions are needed to save lives and support livelihoods.
In the medium and long terms, he explained that capacity must be built to respond effectively and efficiently to health crises which are predicted to occur more frequently in the future.
While in the long term, food security must be achieved noting that when the economy reopens, public and private sectors will be capable of rapid production and progress.
“In the short term, however, we are obliged to respond to the urgent, unavoidable and unanticipated effects of COVID-19,” President Granger remarked and noted that the Public Health sector requires costly and necessary assets.
The Head of State commended the governments and institutions which have supported the flow of much-needed resources to small states and underscored that more must be done.