About

Dr. Richard Van West-Charles is a Public Health trained physician. He worked in the Public Health System of Guyana and later was appointed as a Minister in the Government of Guyana. He was responsible for the following sectors viz Health; Water; Housing and the Environment. He also had the Ministerial responsibility for Medical Education, Food Policy and the Environment. While holding the Ministerial positions he was also the Chairman of the Civil Defense Commission and the Bilateral Mixed Commissions with the Republic of Cuba and Germany. While holding the Ministerial position he was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau and the Executive Board of the World Health Organization. Dr Van West-Charles joined the World Health Organization within the Region of the Americas and was the Program Officer for the Eastern Caribbean Island and later the WHO Representative to Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Bermuda; The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. He was later appointed as the Area Manager in the Regional Office of the WHO in the Americas with responsibility for Information, Knowledge Management, Research and Bioethics. After his resignation from PAHO/WHO he headed an NGO Partnership and Networking for the Development of Guyana. He was later appointed as the Managing Director of the Guyana Water Company for the period