WHO equipment to upgrade Seychelles’ health care services |27 May 2015

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has handed over various types of equipment to the Ministry of Health to support and upgrade health care services in Seychelles.

The equipment range from laptops, vaccine fridges, two walk-through temperature scanners, binocular microscope computers, retinal camera, to autoscope and thermoscope.
They were from a request made by the Seychelles Public Health Authority and the Health Care Agency.

The equipment, worth US $73,253.90, were ordered and eased under the WHO Programme of Action (WHO-POA) for the biennium 2014-2015 which WHO provides every two years to the total amount of US $1.6 million.

Present at the handover where the Minister for Health Mitcy Larue; the WHO liaison officer for Seychelles, Dr Cornelia Atsyor; chief executive of the Health Care Agency Suresh Menon and his deputy Danny Louange; the Commissioner of the Public Health Authority Dr Jude Gedeon; other high officials and staff of both the agency and the Ministry of Health.

Describing the purpose of those pieces of equipment, Dr Atsyor said the body temperature scanners aim to strengthen entry surveillance of infectious diseases. It will ease detection and isolation of passengers entering the country with fevers.

The binocular microscope computer will help detect tropical disease surveillance especially for accessing data analysis and documentation of the status of the level infestation in school children.

She also said the Health Care Agency will receive a retinal camera for the early detection of retinal complications especially as a result of diabetes. That equipment was configured by Vision Care free of charge, which she described as a very good public/private partnership. Vision Care will also be providing training to staff in that regard.

She said the mannequins, autoscope and ophthalmoscope equipment with accessories are to support the expanded health programme. The mannequins will be used to demonstrate self breast examinations and testicular self-examination in schools while the autoscope and opthalmoscope will be used for ear and eye examinations.

The vaccine machine will facilitate the programme of immunisation while the laptops are for data management.
Dr Louange thanked Dr Atsyor for the donation on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Health Care Agency and Public Health.
He said the equipment will help them in delivering better health for the public.