SPECIAL programmes developed at the regional level to tackle leprosy will soon be rolled out in Guyana.

This is according to Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, who made this disclosure during last Thursday’s consideration of the estimates for the 2023 budget.

Dr Anthony stated that the main services for leprosy are offered at the Palms and as such, in this year’s budget, sums of money are being invested in upgrading the services that are provided there.

“We have included a special laboratory and other equipment so that we can make more efficient diagnoses,” the health minister said.

Against this backdrop, he noted that Guyana has over the last couple of years achieved elimination at the national level.

To this end, he added that there are a few regions in the country where authorities have seen that there is more than one person per 10,000 with the disease and as such, the budget caters for programmes to tackle this.

“Therefore, we have targeted those regions with specific programmes so that we can reduce that to the one or less than one per 10,000,” Dr Anthony told the Committee of Supply.

He said that the aim is to see Guyana being considered as eliminating leprosy from the country at a regional level.

However, while the WHO has a standard set to achieve that by 2030, Dr Anthony stated that the government’s goal is to get there by 2025.