HEALTH MINISTER, Dr. Frank Anthony, has stated that Guyana’s health sector was perhaps the most neglected sector under the APNU+AFC Administration and budget 2020 is the first step towards ensuring Guyanese no longer have to risk their lives at the hands of a failing system.

The government has allocated $51.7 billion or 15.7 per cent of the total budget for the health sector for 2020. Of this amount, $14.3 billion is budgeted for the procurement of drugs and medical supplies, and $3.2 billion will go to the procurement of emergency drugs and medical supplies, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health minister lobbied in Parliament, on Thursday, for the approval of the sum which he said is needed for the resuscitation of the health sector.

Speaking to the House, Dr. Anthony lambasted the former government for its shortcomings and assured the public that the issue of constant shortages of drugs and supplies will be a thing of the past.

“There were 156 items of drugs with zero stock level, put a different way, Mr. Speaker, it meant that the APNU+AFC Government did not buy medicines for the people with high blood pressure in this country. It meant that the APNU+AFC did not buy medicines for the people who had heart problems in this country; it meant that the APNU+AFC did not buy medicines for the diabetic patients of this country,” he said.

The minister also responded to criticisms levied by the Opposition of the government’s plan for COVID-19 mitigation. Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones, who spoke prior, had criticised the budget as being void of a COVID-19 Recovery Plan. He said that the budget does not detail how Guyanese will emerge from the global pandemic.

“It appears as though the minister of health has been excommunicated, shut out from the budget. No input from him in terms of a COVID-19 Recovery Plan can be detected, but that is not surprising,” he said.

However, Dr. Anthony rebutted that it was the coalition government which had no COVID-19 plan, because, when he took over the ministry, the $1.6 billion ‘COVID hospital’ was incomplete with no beds, no water, missing medical equipment, no sewerage system, ineffective ventilators and a host of other shortcomings.

“They did not have any plan!” he said. “This hospital that is supposed to rescue this country from COVID-19, there was supposed to be staff for this hospital; when we took it over there was not a single staff assigned to that facility. Yet, Mr. Speaker, His Excellency, the [then] President [David Granger] went there July 30 and he unveiled a plaque and he told the world ‘here is the hospital that is going to rescue this country’.”

COVID-19 TESTING
The health minister informed the House that it was only because the former Public Health Ministry had very few testing kits, to the point that they were rationing them to the various regions, that Guyana did not record realistic COVID-19 numbers. He also stated that the administration intentionally did not test persons who recently died of suspected COVID-19 contraction, simply to keep its numbers low.

On the other hand, he said that the PPP/C Administration has already taken steps to strengthen its response, such as an aggressive laboratory testing programme; expanding contact tracing; providing exposed persons with testing and counselling; providing effective hospital treatment and care programme for the critically ill; and engaging international partners for assistance.

Dr. Anthony said that throughout the debates, negativity has been oozing from the Opposition about budget 2020 but it has proven itself superior to the past budgets under the Opposition and has benefits for all Guyanese.