Embassy of India

Paramaribo

PRESS RELEASE

Procurement and supply of Medical equipment to enhance health services in Barbados – USD 675,000  Government of India funded grant project under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

At a formal ceremony organized on 15 April 2024 by the Ministry of Health and Wellness at the Barbados Drug Service Office in Saint Michael in Barbados, Dr. Shankar Balachandran, Ambassador of India to Suriname and concurrently accredited as High Commissioner of India to Barbados, handed over a refrigerated truck costing USD 59001 to Mr. Wayne Marshall, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Health and Wellness. He symbolically presented the key of the truck to the Permanent Secretary.

This marks the completion of the USD 675,000 Government of India funded grant project under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund to enhance health security and service delivery in Barbados. 106 items of medical equipment comprising a total of four servers, one handheld spectrometer, 30 vascular dopplers, 25 vital sign monitors, 35 nebulizers, 12 thermal printers and a mobile X-Ray unit, were handed over earlier on 31 October 2023.  The refrigerated truck is a first for Barbados Drug Service (BDS) and India is happy to partner with Barbados in this pioneering project. The truck would take temperature-controlled drugs to deliver to all the 15 drug centers in Barbados. The truck is the final item in the medical equipment supply project and would play a vital role in integrating the drug distribution services in Barbados and enhancing the efficiency of the BDS.

Mr. Wayne Marshall thanked India for the generous donation. Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Dr. Shankar Balachandran reiterated India’s commitment to South-South cooperation and thanked the UNOPS, the procurement and implementing agency for the commendable work done in implementing the project within the budget of USD 675,000 and also in good time. He also thanked all those involved in the project.   Ms. Delores Mascol, Director, Barbados Drug Service proposed a vote of thanks. She recalled how this refrigerated truck was a missing link in the drug delivery and thanked India for fulfilling a long-felt demand.  Senior officials of the Ministry of Health, Social Policy, Foreign Ministry, UNOPS representatives and members of the Indian Diaspora in Barbados witnessed the handing over. 

This is one of the projects conceived under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund to help combat the effects of Covid-19 pandemic across the world.   The India-UN Development Partnership Fund promotes shared prosperity in the global south and contributes to initiatives towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It forms an important component of India’s development partnership assistance, engaging multi-lateral agencies to support transformational sustainable development projects, with a focus on least developed countries and small island developing states. Representative photographs are attached below.

Bridgetown,

April 15, 2024.