US boosting Caribbean, South American medical systems

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 18:52 by Writer

The United States’ Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is working with several Caribbean and South American countries, including Guyana to boost the capacity of their healthcare systems, a top American embassy official said on Monday.

“Under the strategic direction of US Southern Command, a series of key medical engagements are being executed across South America and the Caribbean. These missions are designed to build enduring partnerships, bolster the capacity of our partner nations’ medical systems and enhance our collective readiness for complex global challenges,” Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Guyana, John Crippen said at the official opening of the 2026 Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) mission at the Marriott Hotel.

He said the third LAMAT would see American medical professionals working with their counterparts in Guyana, Suriname, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis to provide medical and dental treatment to patients.

Mr Crippen said more than US$300,000 in medical supplies and “invaluable” medical experience are being provided.

As part of LAMAT, a detachment from the United States Air Force (USAF), linked to the SOUTHCOM, is in Guyana to train security personnel in emergency response and treat ordinary Guyanese for a range of illnesses at several healthcare facilities.

The Ministry of Health would be hosting a team of healthcare professionals from the University of Miami who would deliver a four-day mass casualty training of trainers workshop at the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) headquarters to an estimated 60 local healthcare personnel from regional and central healthcare facilities, emergency medical services, port health, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defence Force and other agencies.

LAMAT Mission Commander, Colonel Theodore Liszeski of the USAF told the formal opening of the two-week LAMAT exercise that the overall aim would be to “strengthen readiness through partnership” by imparting knowledge, comparing best practices and building interoperability” for the future.

“Readiness begins with relationships. By working together today, we ensure when future challenges arise—whether natural disasters or public emergencies—we are already ready to respond with trusted partners,” he said.

Under the umbrella of LAMAT, the 89-member team would be providing services at the Linden Hospital Complex, Diamond Regional Hospital, West Demerara Regional Hospital, De Kinderen Regional Hospital, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Cheddi Jagan Dental School.

Mr Crippen said in Guyana, doctors would deliver medical, surgical, eye and dental care, as part of the decades-old robust medical partnership between Guyana and the US.

In addition to previous LAMAT missions, the American government has assisted Guyana in the fight against HIV/AIDS through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and combatting COVID-19.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony under a previous a LAMAT exercise, said the American team worked seamlessly with Guyanese teams to provide eye surgeries that were never performed in Guyana before.

He hailed the value of knowledge-sharing between the two sides, and giving the American health personnel an opportunity to work in facilities that are not as sophisticated as theirs.

“I think for some of you coming in, it gives you an opportunity to work in a different type of medical setting and we were talking before than ours are not so high-tech than what you might be accustomed to but certainly it’s an environment in which you can learn how to function and what we can do together so I think there are advantages on both sides and having these types of missions certainly will help to build that kind of capacity that we need,” said the health minister, a medical doctor by profession.

Saying that LAMAT brings a “different set of skillsets” that are appropriate to Guyana’s health sector needs, the health minister hoped that residents of Guyana’s remote interior locations could benefit from future missions. “Maybe, in a future LAMAT mission we’ll get you to go out more into the interior of Guyana where it’s even tougher in terms of how we deliver medicine but I think it would be a very good experience,” he said.