The services of an increased number of well-trained doctors in the area of Obstetrics and GynaecologyMinister of Public Health, Dr George Nortonat the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) supported by skilled midwives could be the formula for arresting the challenge of maternal and infant mortality, according to recently sworn-in Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton.? These workers, he has asserted, must also be well compensated.And Guyana is in dire need of a strategic tactic to curb the aforementioned challenge if it is to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Four and Five before year-end.Moreover, the Minister noted that “I am of the opinion that the only time we are going to take control of our maternal and infantile mortality rate is when we have at least 10 Guyanese trained Obstetric/Gynaecologists working in the Georgetown Hospital with well-trained midwives being given benefits.”As such,Cheap Jerseys From China, he said that he will be working towards putting measures in place to achieve the desired outcome. Accordingly, Dr Norton added, that moves will be made towards ensuring that the overtime for these workers is not taxed and that they are readily afforded duty free concessions where applicable as he alluded to the distance that some medical practitioners travel to perform their duties. He also hinted to the possibility of housing availabilities for these workers pointing out that efficient performances are more likely “when persons know that they are going home to their own homes.”“These are some of the things that we have to take into consideration…the training alone is not all; the education alone is not all, it is the conditions under which nurses and so on work (and) there are very good nurses whose hearts are with the system, but it is not going to happen if we don’t take it holistically and address these issues,” said the Health Minister.In September 2000, 191 United Nations Member States, Guyana included, signed a UN Millennium Declaration committing them to achieve eight precisely outlined MDGs by 2015. This therefore committed the Member States to tackle developmental challenges including poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.Moreover, the eight goals are: to eradicate?extreme poverty?and?hunger; to achieve?universal primary education; to promote?gender equality; to reduce?child mortality; to improve?maternal health; to combat?HIV/AIDS,?malaria, and other diseases; to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development.But it was just last year that the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Marianne Flach,Wholesale Jerseys China, observed that while Guyana had achieved several MDGs and was well on its way to achieving several more, there are some that are proving to be more elusive and costly to attain.She was at the time speaking at the launch of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Guyana, Flach noted, as at last year, was able to achieve the MDGs relating to hunger, primary education, gender equality and environmental sustainability,Cheap Jerseys, but is struggling to tackle MDGs Four and Five which speak specifically to reducing infant and maternal mortality.“While we have made significant progress in reducing Under Five mortality through better vaccination coverage and management of childhood illnesses, neonatal mortality is still a critical issue,” said Flach.The UNICEF Rep pointed out that “too many children still die from preventable causes within the first month of life,” as she went on to amplify the importance of the MICS, which can provide needful data to identify the fatal trends in order to activate plans to address them.The MICS,Cheap Jerseys USA, according to her, is an important monitoring tool for assessing the wellbeing of children, women and their families, as the MICS survey collects data for more than 20 of the 48 MDG indicators.The MICS is said to the largest international household survey to collect information on many MDG indicators in a short period. She therefore noted that “for Guyana to continue making progress as a lower-middle income country, sound information on child rights indicators is crucial for formulating and revising national and sub-national policies, and for monitoring to ensure the country’s progress towards the achievement of the MDGs,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, and other global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of children.”And this is important, Flach noted, in light of the fact that “gaps in data often impede Guyana’s efforts to formulate effective policies and programmes, and can prese