By Navendra Seoraj

GUYANA’S healthcare system has, over the past 50 years, been significantly elevated from the level of ‘bush medicine’ to the stage where professional healthcare is quite accessible to all Guyanese.Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, in his address at the Ministry of Public Health’s National Health Symposium at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown on Friday, said: “We must look back and remember the fallacies of some notorious bush doctors and realise that Guyanese now benefit from a system of free and professional healthcare.”

The forum, one of a number of activities marking Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, gave officials an opportunity to reflect on the struggles faced in order to get the sector where it is today, and to outline what needs to be done to further develop the country’s healthcare system.

Prior to Guyana’s achievement of Independence, during the colonial time, the now free healthcare system was set up to ensure that the Estate workers and staff had maximum access to healthcare, leaving primary healthcare services as an unknown element to those in the interior areas.

This, he said, caused persons to fall ill, and even die from diseases such as malaria, dengue, typhoid and a host of other ailments which wreaked havoc on the lives of many. However, subsequent to May 26, 1966, when Guyana attained its status as an Independent country, the healthcare system was decentralised and institutionalised by Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) in various parts of the country; but this gave rise to new challenges when it came to allocating funds for the development and maintenance of the sector.

According to Nagamootoo, with emphasis on universal healthcare and changes in disease profile, the health budget was a problem for past Governments, and it continues to be a burning issue.

“Health competes with other sectors for state allocations of what essentially has been scarce…it has increased from 5.1 per cent in 2008 to 9.1 per cent of the budget in 2015, and increased marginally in 2016; which shows that it’s consistently climbing.”

The allocations will, however, never be enough, since public demands call for different spending precisely because of the many viruses and diseases which lurk in the atmosphere, he said.

Despite the challenges which face the sector as compared to the early 90s — when malaria, dengue fever and gastro, among other diseases, posed a grave challenge to the sector — 2004 saw a better time, when there was a decline in malaria and the other vector-borne diseases, while progress in combating these diseases continues to this day.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister noted, in 2006 there was a peak in the report of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), which has, to date, subsided because of the active roles of the officials and other members in the healthcare system.

Over the years, the battle against tuberculosis (TB) has also been a hard fought one, bearing fruit because of the vaccination and screening interventions which have been at a peak.

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY WARNED
“I can’t help but laud the efforts of the Ministry and PAHO/WHO in tackling the various diseases and viruses…. We hope we can continue to fight the spread; however, we wish to warn the pharmaceutical industry about their excessive lobbying for drugs which are not needed,” declared Prime Minister Nagamootoo.

In combating the diseases and viruses, the Government has been misled on many occasions, he said, given that pharmacists have been lobbying. He stressed that billions of dollars are needed to prepare for an alleged pandemic which is currently under control.

He said the lobby sometimes brings about a distorted image of what the health situation is and what needs to be dealt soonest. This has placed tremendous pressure on limited financial resources to sole-source for every ailment, but the APNU+AFC Government will continue to make allocations to help alleviate the diseases that affect the country’s citizens, the Prime Minister promised.

INCREASE IN LIFE EXPECTANCY
Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton, also used the opportunity to outline the accomplishments in the health sector over the past 50 years.

“Guyana’s ability to increase its life expectancy is one such accomplishment,” he posited.

Life expectancy has risen from 40 in the 1960s to 61 by 1970, and that remained the same by 1990; but it has now increased to 64 for males and 71 for females, as per 2014 statistics. And this, he said, was made possible due to improvements in healthcare delivery.

Another remarkable achievement of the Ministry of Public Health is the mastering of the immunisation process. The Ministry boasts the best immunisation programme in the region, with a vaccination coverage of over 90 per cent for all antigens for the under-5 population, said the minister.
However, “We have not become complacent, and every year the expanded programme on immunisation receives millions of dollars for the purchasing of vaccines, equipment, and services to ensure the safe delivery of the vaccination process,” he disclosed.

HEALTH VISION 2020
Focus has now shifted to issues such as mental health, chronic diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and HIV and AIDS. These issues, among others, are being tackled head-on using robust strategies and action plans, chief among which is the Health Vision 2020.

Dr Norton noted that the vision is that “all people of Guyana are among the healthiest in the Caribbean and the Americas” by the year 2020.

“The Government of Guyana is fully committed to building a resilient healthcare system in which Guyanese are provided with health services which are as accessible, acceptable, affordable, timely and appropriate as possible,” he declared.

“We, as a Government, cannot develop the health sector on our own; and I therefore take this opportunity to recognise the efforts of PAHO/WHO and other development partners over the years. PAHO/WHO in particular has been instrumental in developing the health system with their invaluable technical and other support,” Dr Norton stressed as he called on officials to work collaboratively with citizens to get the system to its highest point.