Dear Editor,
In the month that our VP Bharrat Jagdeo was showboating in Houston and talking up Guyana’s impending wealth, a medical team from the United States flew into Mabaruma and Port Kaituma in Region One. While Jagdeo and team – some of whom have zero involvement in oil – were sipping champagne and slurping oysters at the swank Joey Uptown, the medical team had discovered numerous cases of malnutrition among Region One adults and children. As medic Roberto Ruiz Acededo recalled, “A majority of the cases …had to do with malnutrition and severe dehydration and intestinal parasites and a large variety of bacterial infections”. Photos of the event show hundreds of Guyanese waiting for these services. So much for adequate healthcare in Region One! It is of interest that the US Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch was on hand to witness the work of the team and that the results of this visit have now been revealed. The Ambassador must realise after last year’s elections that true democracy is not about who wins power but whether all of a country’s citizens are represented and cared for. The contrast could not be starker. Guyana is rapidly becoming the country of have-nothings and those who have too much. Most for some, malnutrition for the rest. Carry on smartly.
Sincerely,
Francis Newton
