On Friday, 14 January, the official handover ceremony of a generous donation of surgical face masks by the Government of Germany in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) took place at the Ministry of Health. The donated items are stored at the BGVS (Bedrijf Geneesmiddelen Voorziening Suriname) and will be distributed by the Ministry of Health to various healthcare institutions in the country.
Paramaribo, 17 January 2022 (PAHO) – The 462,500 surgical face masks were procured through the World Health Organization (WHO) with funding provided by the Government of Germany and handed over at the secretariat of the Minister in the presence of the Minister of Health, Dr. Amar Ramadhin, the Director of Health, Dr. Rakesh Gajadhar Sukul, Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, PAHO/WHO Representative in Suriname and the Honorary Consul of Germany, Mr. Kurt van Essen, among others.
“Face masks are essential tools to prevent infection during this pandemic, and we will use these in our hospitals and other health institutions such as swab locations and vaccination locations. We are grateful to the German Government and PAHO for supporting Suriname to combat the pandemic, especially during this time, as Germany, like many other countries, is facing another COVID-19 wave and battling the Omicron variant”, said The Minister of Health, Dr. Amar Ramadhin.
“In October 2021, the German Government helped strengthen Suriname’s COVID-19 vaccination programme by donating cooling boxes, needles and other medical equipment and kept its promise to continue its support to Suriname with this donation of surgical face masks with the help of PAHO. We will continue to help flatten the curve together and reduce the strain on the healthcare system. The Government of Germany has a good relationship with Suriname and will continue to ensure the further strengthening of this relationship”, stated the Honorary Consul of Germany, Mr. Kurt van Essen.
“Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname requires a collaborative effort and solidarity among nations and PAHO is pleased to provide continued technical cooperation to the Ministry of Health in this regard. The delivery of these surgical masks is especially important at this time as the Omicron variant which is present in Suriname is highly contagious and the adequate protection of healthcare workers is important to ensure availability of staff to provide ongoing care and continuity of the health system.”, concluded the PAHO/WHO Representative in Suriname, Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell.
