Forty health care professionals graduated on Monday, from the Ministry of Health’s remedial six weeks Information Technology Training (IT) course at a convocation ceremony held at the Cheddie Jagan Research Centre, Main Street.

Participants were drawn from various health professions and classes were done after clinical activities free of cost, at times convenient to students. The programme, which aims at educating persons who are already qualified but never had IT training, is also a response to a need identified by President Bharrat Jagdeo, to bridge the digital divide.

Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran, giving the charge, said that since the inception of the programme a few years ago several students have successfully graduated. “We are keeping in sync with the national thrust that every single person must be computer literate, especially workers in the health sector,” Ramsaran said.

He said the ministry will be partnering with the Education Ministry to expand the programme in the near future. The programme is funded by various supporting agencies and is an initiative which gives health care professionals knowledge of IT while opening up various opportunities, a GINA release said.

Also addressing the graduates, Director of Health Sciences Education Unit, Ministry of Health Noel Holder highlighted that the IT programme is enshrined in the nurses’ curricula. He pointed out however that the ministry was unable to deliver the course at three different nursing schools in the country because of a number of factors.

But with initiatives started in the Health Sector Development Unit with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and I-TECH Guyana the first programme was able to continue. Holder then went on to congratulate the students and told them that they can now exercise their computer literacy.

Meanwhile Director for Disease Control, Global AIDS Programme-Guyana Dr Curtis La Fleur reminded the health care workers that they live in the age of information technology and if they are not up to date they will be left behind.

La Fleur called the programme a bold initiative by the Ministry to increase its capacity in information technology and further encouraged students to put their knowledge and experience gained into practice while reiterating his organisation’s support to the programme to ensure that education for health workers across Guyana is continued.