THE health sector is currently undergoing a major overhaul. This is manifested in a number of interventions at all levels of health care delivery with a view of providing a standard of care second to none in the Caribbean.

Health care is a top national priority. The PPP/C administration has been investing heavily in the delivery of quality health care to the Guyanese people based on a recognition of the fact that the wealth of the nation resided in a healthy and educated population. It is, therefore, not surprising that education and health consumed the lion’s share of the budgetary allocation. The sector has already made a significant leap forward in terms of transforming Guyana into a first choice healthcare destination.

President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has made it abundantly clear that healthcare is ranked high on the country’s developmental priorities. According to President Ali, the greatest change any society should desire is one in which people could lead long and healthy lives and healthcare is seen as the engine through which this could be accomplished.

The fact is that the health sector has come a long way since the dark days of PNC incompetent rule when expenditure on the military and paramilitary agencies consumed more resources than health and education combined. One consequence of such misguided policy was a rundown health system where basic supplies of drugs and medical supplies were unavailable to the population and patients, including pregnant mothers, were forced to share beds in public hospitals. There were anecdotes of patients bitten by rats in rodent-invested hospitals due to the advanced state of infrastructural decay.

It took the return of the PPP/C administration on October 5, 1992, for the decline of health services in particular, and the social services in general, to be halted. Healthcare, long neglected by the then PNC administration, was placed, as it were, on the front burner which saw the delivery of health care progressively expanded and improved. The healthcare infrastructure was greatly enhanced with the establishment of several new diagnostic hospitals and major rehabilitation works on health facilities throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.

In addition, the training of health professionals including doctors and nurses were intensified and there is, today, a much better working environment for medical personnel. Plans are currently underway to establish ‘smart’ health facilities which are intended to be climate- change resilient in addition to strengthening structural and operational aspects and provide green technologies to ensure the facility remain functional during emergencies and disasters.

This is indeed forward-looking and visionary thinking on the part of the PPP/C administration. Medical technology is advancing at a rapid pace and it is imperative that the physical infrastructure and personnel are put in place to take advantage of such cutting-edge technological advances. In this regard, the initiative by President Ali to partner with the world-renowned New York-based Mount Sinai Health System is a step in the right direction. Mount Sinai is an integrated healthcare system providing exceptional medical care to local and global communities.

As pointed out by Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, the stage is now set to digitalise patient history and records. The strategic partnership entered between Guyana and Mount Sinai represented a pivotal moment for healthcare transformation in Guyana along the lines envisaged by President Ali for a complete overhaul of the medical system including upgrading of legislation and modernising the healthcare infrastructure.

The PPP/C administration must be commended for the great strides it has been making in the delivery of healthcare in Guyana. Of course, there are still several challenges in terms of accountability of work and attitude but these are not insurmountable. Per capita spending on health, even though significantly better than previous years, still lag behind that of the more developed countries. This reality, as observed by a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) statement on conditions of our public hospitals, still leaves room for improvement. There are those, however, who seek to make political mileage of the observations made in the IDB findings but refuse to take cognisance of the bigger picture of sectoral improvements and the impact they are making on significant health indicators such as longevity rates, infant mortality, maternal deaths, immunisation rates and the overall health of the population.

But, as the saying goes, none so blind as those who will not see. Such individuals only look for faults and can see nothing else.