Topic: 2025 – Vaccine Access and Distribution
Country: Guyana
Delegate Name: Hafsa Zeeshan
Country: Guyana
Committee: ECOSOC: WHO
Topic: Vaccine Access and Distribution
Delegate: Hafsa Zeeshan
School: Portage Central High School
Vaccines have always been the silent yet strong fighters of diseases, and their importance was largely overlooked, until the COVID-19 pandemic, a whiplash to the world that had most crying out for a solution to the crisis. And vaccines, yet again, are the reason that our world has had a chance to recover from the pandemic that engulfed us just years prior.
Guyana, as a country, has had massive success with its vaccination rates, largely due to its implementation of the Expanded Program on Vaccines that Guyana launched in collaboration with the WHO and the PAHO in 1974. This program helped the country develop a vaccination schedule for kids and eventually to cover all families. In addition, because of Guyana’s free public healthcare, these vaccines have been free to access and having easy access to them is what has helped them actually make an impact. According to the Department of Public Health in Guyana, as of 2016, the government reported national coverage of ~98 % for tuberculosis, dramatic increases in polio and measles coverage, from ~87 % and ~67 % in 1995, respectively, to near-universal coverage just decades later. And Guyana continues to affirm the fact that universal coverage and access to vaccines are essential for preserving the public health of a nation. In a powerful demonstration of regional cooperation, the Governments of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Brazil, together with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), launched the Cross-Border Vaccination Week in the Americas in April of this year, under the campaign that “Your Decision Makes a Difference,” aiming to enhance immunization coverage and strengthen disease prevention efforts among vulnerable populations along the shared border.
But while its success is evident, the Guyana government must also continue its efforts, specifically by providing outreach to its hinterland regions, or the regions where the majority of its indigenous population lives. According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, due to their economies having been largely re-tasked to service the mining industry, empirical evidence suggests that rates of sexually transmitted diseases have increased, among various other health concerns. In particular, HIV/AIDS is a serious concern in these populations, especially since vaccines such as the HIV vaccine are incredibly hard to access. The Guyana government has expressed its concern and has made efforts to get these communities what they need. In May of 2025, President Dr Irfaan Ali reaffirmed the government’s deep commitment to advancing Guyana’s Indigenous communities, noting that billions of dollars have been invested in recent years to transform health, education, infrastructure, and economic opportunities across the hinterland and riverine regions. In addition to that, however, WHO can and must play its part in getting care to the areas that need it most, primarily by collaborating with Guyana’s government and the PAHO to fund mobile health services, as many of these communities require days of hard travel to access, and ways to get vaccines to communities while maintaining their temperature, sanity, etc.
Collaboration with other countries and the dedication of Guyana’s government have been monumental in getting Guyana’s vaccination rates and communities where they are, and it’s essential that these efforts be both continued and expanded
