Food for the Poor responds to report on dumped drugs
Food for the Poor (Guy) Inc (FFTP) said it has noted the article `Medical supplies worth millions dumped in Region Two’ in yesterday’s Stabroek News where it said it could be inferred that FFTP donated expired medical supplies.
“Food for the Poor (Guy) Inc. would like to clarify that that at no time does the organization donate expired medical supplies. Before any medical supplies or pharmaceuticals are donated to the Ministry of Health or any Public Health Institution, an offer which provides details and expiry dates of the medical items, is made to the Ministry or Health Institution. The offer is signed and accepted by a senior official before the items are donated. It is therefore up to the Health Institution to utilize the donated supplies before they expire”, the organisation said.
It added that FFTP is the largest Non-Governmental Organisation in Guyana. It provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance.
Regional Health Officer Dr Ranjeev Singh said on Wednesday that the supplies that were dumped were either expired or spoilt. He also informed that the supplies were discarded at a location at Zorg-en-Vlygt in Region Two. There are protocols that have to be followed in the disposal of such items.
Dr Singh explained that the medical supplies were donated by Food for the Poor Inc in 2018 and 2019 and they had all since expired. He said some of it was used by doctors and nurses while the others were placed in a room. He said that the room was bat infested and as such the supplies became contaminated and unhealthy to use.
He made it clear that the supplies were not purchased by the Ministry of Health or the Regional Democratic Council but rather they were donated.
“The items were contaminated, expired and spoiled and as such a decision was taken to discard the same from the compound since it was not good or safe for usage”, he said.
The RHO opined that the video was circulated to create mischief and assured that the regional health services will continue to provide quality service to residents of the region.