THE Ministry of Health in a statement issued on Sunday dismissed a report published by the Kaieteur newspaper, stating that the contents of a report were reckless and incorrect.

The report, bearing the headline, “Government tells IDB not to disclose all information on $97M loan for Health Sector,” was published in Sunday’s newspaper. But the Health Ministry said that the headline is inaccurate and pointed out several inconsistencies in the report.

“Beyond the misleading headline, KN then proceeded to state all the details of the loan that the headline claimed the government asked not to be disclosed,” the ministry’s statement highlighted.

It added, “The Ministry of Health (MoH) completely rejects the headline and unequivocally makes it clear that the MoH has never requested the IDB not to disclose any information relating to this project.”

In an attempt to offer clarity on the loan and the government’s engagements with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the ministry’s statements detailed pertinent information on the agreement.

On December 7, the statement noted, the board of the IDB approved a project as part of a $160M CLIP loan. The project is for a $97M loan(and) has three components, all of which KN reported from the IDB published information, the statement read.

Component One is an infrastructural project which will see new construction and upgrading of seven hospitals. The hospitals to be reconstructed or upgraded include four hinterland hospitals, the Linden hospital, the New Amsterdam hospital and the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Then, Component Two will continue to build on digital health and expand telemedicine in the country. Outside of the telemedicine programme, which the government recently has been piloting in four remote health posts in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo), it was noted that the IDB project expects to see the programme expanding to remote health posts and centres around the country. The project will also ensure that all hospitals and polyclinics with diagnostic imaging becomes part of the teleradiology programme and that up to 20 centres become part of a teleophthalmology programme.

Finally, Component Three will focus on strengthening the health system, including strengthening the supply chain and ensuring that the package of services from the Health Ministry is implemented across the country, supporting the government’s push for equity.

The details of the reconstruction and upgrading will be developed as part of the project. Technical consultants will be contracted to create the reconstruction and upgrading work. However, the government has already indicated that every region and several sub-regions in the hinterland will see hospitals reconstructed and upgraded to deliver Level Four services. The government has indicated that upgrading and reconstructing hinterland hospitals and the Linden Hospital will be a priority for this project.

“This loan adds to the government’s drive to transform the health sector. Every hospital in Guyana will be upgraded as part of the total transformation of the health sector that the government announced in August 2020,” the statement further noted.