…as gov’t ramps up spending to boost maternal care

GOVERNMENT next year will deploy specialist doctors to certain hinterland regions and will also spend heavily in services and training to boost maternal and child health care here, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings, has said.
Speaking on Tuesday during the ongoing budget debate, Dr Cummings said understanding the budget can be difficult, but once understood persons will soon realise that the 2017 estimate is a “people’s budget.” “Mr. Speaker, after the initial hangover of misinformation is [sic] subsided, Guyanese are recognising that they will benefit more from Budget 2017 than any other budget in the history of this beautiful country,” she told the National Assembly. The opposition has criticised the budget, deeming it anti-workers.
Social media experts
Dr Cummings told the house that: “The social media mathematicians and economists have all withdrawn into obscurity, now that their pseudo-economic theories have been debunked by ordinary people, who simply took the time to read and understand this budget.”
According to Minister Cummings, the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government within 19 months has set about working assiduously to maximise the potential of Guyana on all fronts, positing that all sectors are being given strict attention and budget 2017 will assist in moving the process forward.
Turning her attention to her subject ministry, health, the Public Health Minister pointed out that $31.2B has been for the health sector in 2017 – representing the largest budgetary allocation to be given to the sector. “The provision of the best healthcare to all Guyanese remains a national priority,” she assured the House, while noting that the 2017 budget will boost the capacity of the sector to meet the demands of the population.
“As a Government, we are committed to reducing the inequities and the inequalities of access to quality healthcare, as we strive to make universal primary health care a lasting reality in this country,” she posited.
In the public health sector, $2B has been allocated for infrastructural works, thereby allowing for the transformation of some healthcare facilities to accommodate the people of their communities, including the differently-abled.
She noted that a special effort will be made to upgrade health facilities at the district level, along with the establishment and improvement of comfortable living quarters. These steps, she said, will encourage more medical personnel to work in areas such as Baramita, Kamarang, Bartica, Mahdia, Port Kaituma and Annai. “Improved living conditions are a significant motivator, since it satisfies one of the basic human needs in our hierarchy of needs,” Dr. Cummings further contended.
In 2017, the Public Health Ministry, she said, will increase the number of specialist doctors that will be sent into certain regions to treat particular illnesses with major emphasis being placed on paediatrics, internal medicine, gynaecology, obstetrics, dental health and general surgery.
“Initially, the doctors will be deployed specifically in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine,” she stated, while noting that once these placements are done, Government will save enormous sums of money on medical evacuations, which were pegged at an alarming $48.4M in 2016.
Maternal health
On the troubled issue of maternal care, Dr Cummings said the institutional strengthening of Maternal and Child Health within the ministry is another key area that will take centre stage in 2017, with close attention being placed on the services offered in Regions Three, Four and Nine. “The provision of this enhanced healthcare in this area, Mr. Speaker, will commence through a US$8M project that will contribute significantly towards the reduction in maternal, pre-natal and neo-natal deaths in Guyana,” she reported.
This project, she further explained, will improve the supply-chain management of new types of contraceptives, drugs and blood products. Additionally, Government will continue to upgrade maternity waiting homes, improve health literacy and train more health workers, while building capacity within the entire unit.
Additionally, $6.5B has been budgeted for the procurement of medicines and medical supplies.