–Minister Anthony says community partnerships key to expanding voucher programme

FAITH-BASED organisations and major employers are being enlisted to help expand Guyana’s national health voucher programme, as the Ministry of Health moves to bring screening services directly into communities and workplaces.

This was according to Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, who said that the initiative forms part of a broader effort to increase participation in preventive healthcare and reach citizens who may not routinely visit clinics or laboratories for testing.

Dr. Anthony explained that the ministry has begun engaging religious organisations, and plans to formalise partnerships to facilitate community-based health screenings.

“We have started a new thing,” the minister said. “I met with a lot of faith-based organisations, and we are going to work with them and sign MoUs so that we can go to their institutions and screen the people there.”

Under the proposed arrangement, churches, temples and mosques will host screening exercises for members of their congregations, allowing health teams to reach large groups of people in familiar settings.

“So, maybe you go there on a Sunday after the service and organise screening so that everybody can get tested,” Dr. Anthony said, adding that similar initiatives could be organised at mosques and temples across the country.

Added to this, he said, the ministry is also seeking to partner with public and private sector employers to host workplace screening days, bringing medical teams directly to offices and industrial sites.

“We are also going to be working with workplaces… Let’s take ministries for example. They can organise a day and we come in and screen the persons working in that ministry. The same can be done with big private sector entities,” he said.

According to the minister, the strategy is intended to make screening more convenient and accessible, particularly for individuals who may face time constraints or other barriers to visiting health facilities.

This outreach model, he noted, could also help address gaps in participation identified through the voucher programme, including lower screening rates among certain groups.

“There are different ways that we can reach people and get them on board,” he said, adding, “Ultimately, what we want is for people to be screened, and if we find something that is wrong, we bring them into care and treat them.”