GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Oct 29, CMC – A national task force established to strengthen child protection in Guyana has begun reviewing existing studies and data on children and young people as it prepares to recommend policy and legislative reforms.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, who coordinates the National Task Force on Children’s Welfare and Safety, said President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali established the body at State House last Friday.
This follows the deaths of two children last week, one at Bath Settlement on the West Coast of Berbice and the other at Charity on the Essequibo Coast.
Nandlall said the deaths were not isolated incidents but reflected a wider pattern of child abuse.
“Drastic, exceptional circumstances require drastic measures and responses,” he said.
The task force includes the attorney general and the ministers responsible for home affairs, education and human services, with the health minister expected to join.
Other members include representatives of the Judiciary, the Speaker of the National Assembly, law enforcement agencies, major religious organisations, constitutional rights commissions, the National Toshaos Council, Juvenile Justice and the Childcare and Protection Agency.
The Guyana Bar Association has been invited to join, while the Private Sector Commission and the Restorative Justice Centre have expressed interest in becoming members.
Nandlall said the task force was designed to engage organisations and individuals responsible for children across homes, schools, recreational facilities, administrative regions, Indigenous communities and religious institutions.
“This organisation is so structured that it will take this task force into every home, into every school, into every major recreational centre, into every administrative region, into the Amerindian communities, into the religious institutions and houses of worship,” he said.
A team is gathering existing studies, reports and data on children for a desk review, which will provide an evidence base for the task force’s work. The task force will also hold public consultations before submitting a report with policy and legislative recommendations to the president.
Nandlall described the task force as bringing together “a unique constellation of organisations and segments of our society for the first time”.
CMC/ed/2026