–  says Health Minister Dr Ramsammy
CARIBBEAN Community Health Ministers were yesterday urged to ensure that all governments provide access to free drugs and health care on the basis of a human rights issue.
The call came from Guyana’s Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, current chairman of CARICOM’s Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), while welcoming his counterparts to a two-day meeting that got under way at the Community Secretariat in Georgetown.
Stressing that it was a challenge that must be faced in these difficult economic times, the COHSOD chairman said that there was an obligation on the part of governments to offer cost-free health care to all citizens of CARICOM and thereby “preserve the human rights basis of the Community’s health care system….”
With Barbados’ Health Minister, Donville Inniss among CARICOM Health Ministers and officials in attendance, Ramsammy declared:
“The recent news coming out of Barbados limiting access to health care for non-citizens, including those with work permits, raise certain concerns, if it is true…It shows the extent of the problem, as one of the better off countries confronting difficulties in meeting the escalating cost for health care…”
The COHSOD chairman explained that each member state of CARICOM invests about 10 percent of their national budgets towards health care. Yet each had to contend with “major challenges in meeting the cost of health care that outpaces budgetary allocations for health…”
Dr Ramsammy, in referencing Guyana’s experience, pointed out that budgetary allocations have increased every year for the past 15 years….” moving from an investment of US$6 per capita to almost US$100 per capita this year (2011).
“In spite of the heavy burden”, he added, “we continue to provide free health care in the public health sector to everyone in Guyana. Almost 90 percent of all health services in Guyana are obtained through the public health sector. Free health care is accessible to anyone accessing health services in the public sector – even if the person is not a citizen of Guyana…”
The minister said that “Guyana is proud of this record” and as “chair of COHSOD I would urge that countries do not embark on a path whereby persons are deprived of health.”
He stressed that they were faced with responding to “a moral and human rights issue and we meet today as a partnership recognising and embracing that the goal is to promote and protect people’s health as a fundamental human right and as a reaffirmation of our commitment…”
The meeting is scheduled to conclude this evening and the Secretariat indicated that a statement on the outcome should be available over the weekend.