The Guyana Prison Service has received medical and sanitation supplies from the CARICOM security agency, IMPACS to help protect prisoners from the COVID-19 virus.
A release yesterday from the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) said that it responded to a request from prison authorities here for help to minimize and control the risk of the contagion inside their prisons.
With the support of the UK, it immediately provided urgent assistance of medical and sanitation supplies and other related COVID-19 materials to the Guyana Prison Service.
The release said that the donation included medical and sanitation supplies and other COVID-19 related supplies. The donation is in accordance with guidelines issued by the WHO for the prevention and control of the pandemic in prisons.
Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn who received the supplies at the Ogle International Airport expressed “profound gratitude and appreciation to CARICOM IMPACS, the British High Commission and the Regional Security System (RSS), the release said.
Also witnessing the handover of the supplies were Gladwin Samuels, Head of the Prison Service; Ray Davidson, Deputy British High Commissioner and Dr. Kwasi St. Clair, Head of the Guyana Prison Service Medical Department.
Lt. Col. Michael Jones, Executive Director (Ag), CARICOM IMPACS who delivered the air shipment of the COVID-19 related supplies said he was “particularly happy to partner with the UKAID to address the most immediate requirements of the Guyana Prison Service in order to mitigate against COVID-19 within the prisons environment in Guyana”.
The release added that the donation of these supplies will encourage and assist with the accelerated adoption of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for prisons and other places of detention, as well as help mitigate the spread of the pandemic.
Samuel noted that the supplies “will strengthen the capacity of the Guyana Prison Service to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the prison walls”.
The release said that CARICOM IMPACS has donated supplies to the correction and prison services in twelve other CARICOM Member States – Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The assistance package is funded by the UK government to support the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19 in CARICOM Prisons.
The RSS is a key partner in this collaborative initiative by providing airlift and logistical support for the distribution of supplies to some CARICOM Member States. The French Forces in the Caribbean also provided airlift to The Bahamas and Belize.
The release said that Prisons are generally considered to be amplifiers in the spread of infectious diseases and pose a great challenge for authorities working to prevent and contain COVID-19. It added that a sudden eruption of COVID-19 in prisons would put intense pressure on the public health care system in Guyana.
In addition to the items provided to lessen the effects of COVID-19 in prisons, CARICOM IMPACS collaborated with the Caribbean Public Health Agency to provide training sessions to frontline officers on measures to protect themselves in the line of duty. CARICOM IMPACS has also partnered with the University of West Indies COVID-19 Task Force with virtual training on stress management for Law Enforcement Officers.
