January 11, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under News
Source - Kaieteur News
Dr. Moti LallReputable Pulmonologist, Dr Moti Lall, who over the years served the health sector diligently, has died.
He was said to be suffering from a heart condition and was ailing of recent. He succumbed to his condition yesterday morning, four days shy of his 70th birthday.
Dr. Lall, who was raised on the East Coast of Demerara, was the eldest of five children born to Suraj and Betty Lall on January 14th, 1942.
His years as a health professional spanned about four decades, which saw him becoming renowned for his priceless contributions to the treatment and diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. He also became especially popular for his work in the area of addressing (TB) which he had considered a major threat to public health.
Over the years he remained one of the few health professionals that worked assiduously towards the reduction of TB locally. His dedication to the field also saw him being featured in this publication as a ‘Special Person’ last year February.
Just last year, too, he alluded to the need for more funding, and the training of health professionals as two crucial factors to aid the fight against TB. Dr. Lall has for many years been directing his services to the fight against this disease which he insisted was yet a serious threat to the health sector.
He had explained that with the occurrence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) the scourge of the disease has intensified considerably.
“We have found that TB is a so-called by product of AIDS and what we have found also is that when most AIDS victims die, the cause of death is usually TB,” Dr Lall had explained.
It is for this very reason, that he had spoken of the urgent need for more attention and an increase in the budgetary allocation to help combat the disease. He had asserted that the disease is on the increase.
The Pulmonologist had emphasized also that although a lot of approaches to combat the disease have been engaged by the health sector such as the Direct Observation Therapy Strategy (DOTS) programme, there are still some challenges such as the failure of some patients to take their medication.
“When these patients do not use their drugs, which is provided at no cost to them, they develop a multiple drug resistance and this is the creeping monster that we have to be watching for very carefully. When these people refuse to take the drug, or if they don’t get it for some reason, the disease spreads and we have a major problem. It is a problem in Europe, it is a problem in far East Asia, and it is raising its ugly head in the Caribbean too.” This state of affairs, Dr Lall had pointed out could be seen as the primary reason for a decline in the success rate as it relates to the fight against the disease.
He had revealed that efforts in 2009 had realised a mere 64 percent success rate when in fact the aim was somewhere in the vicinity of 90 percent.
In addressing the problem, Dr Lall had highlighted the need to even screen pregnant women to ensure that if they have TB, every precaution be taken to ensure that they do not pass it on to their unborn children.
Up until the time of his death, Dr Lall had operated a clinic at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara, which catered to many who had confidence in his professional capability.
He leaves to mourn his wife Chitra and three children to whom sincere condolences are already being directed.
A message from the New Jersey Arya Samaj/Guyana Central Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission said that Dr Lall’s demise came as “a great shock and loss to many he had touched during his years.”
Former Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, in a statement last evening said that he was saddened by the death of Dr. Lall who he worked with for the last two decades and served together in the health sector during the past 15 years. He said that Dr. Lall, the recipient of a national award (Medal of Service) and former Parliamentarian, served the health sector with distinction, above and beyond the call of duty.
Dr Ramsammy recalled too that Dr. Lall worked tirelessly toward eradication of TB in Guyana and following the conversion of the Best Sanatorium in 1986 to the West Demerara Hospital, he continued to serve the public through several Chest Clinics nationwide.
Dr. Motilall at the time of his death was the President of the Guyana Chest Society, a society that has existed for almost 100 years in Guyana. He was also the Chairman of the Central Housing and Planning Authority and was a active member of the PPP since in the early 1960s.
“Even though his death leaves us diminished and we will grieve, I believe that we should also celebrate the achievements of Dr. Moti Lall. His efforts stand tall as we examine how Guyana has been dealing with TB. The truth is TB would have decimated the population of Guyana. It is because of his efforts in the 1980s and 1990s that Guyana has been able to keep TB under control,” Dr Ramsammy stated.