THE budgetary allocation of $19.2 billion for the health sector in 2013 is significantly higher than that of last year’s $17B and will, among other initiatives, fund a new strategic plan for the sector which will integrate lessons learnt from the previous plan while still consolidating the gains made over the past five years.

Over $369M has been budgeted for human resource development to enhance the competency of health personnel, and to strengthen the fight against malaria. Government has also budgeted for the procurement and distribution of over 6,000 long lasting insecticide treated bed nets for hinterland communities mainly in mining areas.
For the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of health infrastructure countrywide $2.3B has been allocated, of which $1.3B has been budgeted for the state-of-the-art specialty surgical hospital and the Port Kaituma District Hospital.
Speaking on a recent television programme on the National Communications Network, Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran said the strong position of the health sector is due to the investments over the previous years, especially in several new hospitals.
“So basing ourselves on that solid foundation, we are able to do many things along this pathway…bringing more services to more people at more times in more locations,” Minister Ramsaran stated.
That the ministry has been able to take advanced medical services to hinterland communities through a public-private  partnership. It has been engaging members of the private sector, and more medical outreaches have been held at several locations.
Dr. Ramsaran said one of the new hospitals, Diamond, has proven itself in that it meets the medical needs of people residing along the East Bank corridor and even further, and as a result, reduces the burden on the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The expansion of services was also made possible through the training of additional medical personnel with the return of several Cuban trained Guyanese doctors who have since been integrated into the health care system.
Similarly, 2012 also saw the largest number of trainee nurses, especially in midwifery, graduating.
With regards to addressing Non-Communicable Diseases, the Minister explained that there has been an epidemiological transformation in that, over the last few years, there would have been predominantly infectious diseases being the main burden. That has changed to the “diseases of civilization” due to the changing lifestyles, people consuming more refined foods and lack of physical activity.
“So we are putting that on the front burner now, not to say that we will not continue our struggle against HIV/AIDS and those things, we have been doing well in the past, but will be bringing to the fore the struggle against Non Communicable Diseases,” the minister was quoted by the Government Information Agency as saying on the television programme.
With regards to transparency in the procurement of medical materials and drugs, Minister Ramsaran explained that the ministry is keen on ensuring the items bought are of a good quality.
“We are very cautious on how our providers are certified, how they are accredited before they can supply drugs…so that’s how we ensure the transparency of the process that the drugs we buy are the correct drugs,” he said.
Guyana has about 400 health facilities, from health huts to hospitals, spread across the country and it is incumbent on the patients to know which health center they should go to. In this regard, the Ministry of Health is boosting the services at the regional facilities, for instance the West Demerara hospital has been able to eliminate the backlog of fibroid cases and the CC Nicholson Hospital at Nabaclis has been able to deliver babies. The decentralisation of services reduces the number of people who approach the GPHC directly. Similarly, the health center at Angoy’s Avenue in Region 6 reduces the burden on the New Amsterdam hospital.
With regards to the availability and provision of specialised care, Minister Ramsaran explained that the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) was one of the first public-private ventures between the government and a private sector entity to provide cardiac services.  The specialty surgical hospital will address those issues and the medical evacuation programme will also be used to bring people who might have had a cardiac arrest to the facility.