– Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 report says
In recent years, Guyana’s health sector has climbed to new heights and in 2022, while health expenditures decreased in most of the Latin America and Caribbean countries, it increased in Guyana.
This is according to the Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 report by the Social Development Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In 2022, an analysis of these figures in relation to all social functions revealed that six countries allocated 30 per cent or more of central government social spending to the health function.
Notably, Guyana was among the few countries with the largest shares, with a 31 per cent allocation.
Also, while health expenditures decreased in most of the countries analysed, Guyana was among the few countries that were reported to show an increase relative to 2021- 15.2 per cent.
According to the report, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) affirmed that in order to attain progress towards universal healthcare, it is pivotal to allocate public expenditure equivalent to at least 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) towards this goal.

Earlier this year, President, Dr Irfaan Ali reflected on the achievements of his government since entering office in 2020 and stated that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) promised in its 2020 manifesto to transform the health of the people of the country by providing a world-class healthcare system.
He added that a promise made included ensuring people can live long and productive lives in Guyana. The subcomponent of these promises is having diseases diagnosed earlier and having access to the best treatment available, reducing child mortality, and improving patient and family experience in the health sector.

To this end, Dr Ali said that thus far Guyana has seen an improvement in life expectancy in spite of COVID-19 which caused a dip in life expectancies in countries around the world. He revealed that the country has maintained a life expectancy of 70 years old as compared to 68 years old in 2020.
In relation to the reduction of child mortality rates, he said it has slowly improved and currently stand at the lowest it has ever been in Guyana’s history. Child mortality rates now stand at 13 per every 1,000 births as opposed to 19 per 1,000 births in 2020.

Additionally, the Head of State revealed that maternal mortality has improved to its lowest ever as those rates now stand at 96 per 10,000 deliveries compared to 170 per 10,000 deliveries in 2017.
This, he noted, results from investment as he showed that the government is making actual results that provide real benefits and transformation for the people of the country.
Among improvements made in the country’s healthcare sector, it was also noted that cardiac surgery is now being provided in large numbers both in the private sector and at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

With this, Dr Ali said that paediatric cardiac surgery is now not only established but stands as a regular programme at the GPHC.
Some 12 children benefitted from open heart surgery this year and there are expectations of increasing that number to over 40 children per year in the coming year.
The number of overall surgeries has increased and is now approaching over 22,000 per year. President Ali then took the time to recognise the efforts of the nurses and doctors and other healthcare workers as he noted that these are the qualitative results of the investments being made in the sector.

Further, he disclosed that the government is also working on the transformation of the physical infrastructure of the health sector in the country.
This, he said, is why people will see more health centres and health posts being constructed across the country. With the rapid expansion and extension of the country’s health sector, he noted that this cannot be done without the expansion and improvement of the human resource assets in the sector.
Additionally, across the country, 12 new hospitals are on the cards for construction.