-women, children, elders among govt’s highest priorities, Finance Minister says
IN line with its commitment to citizen welfare and development, the Government of Guyana has allocated $78.3 billion to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to strengthen social services.
Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh, in making this disclosure during his 2026 budget presentation on Monday, said protecting, empowering and securing the well-being and dignity of women, children and the elderly rank high on government’s list of priorities.
He stated that the government’s vision is anchored in ensuring that their needs are adequately met, and that their welfare is incorporated in our development processes.
Dr Singh emphasised the commitment to provide a safe and inclusive space for our children to not only empower them to freely express themselves, but also to engage in meaningful contributions to nation building.
Reflecting on the achievements of 2025, the minister said that the government constructed an Early Childhood Development Centre at Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara, and a Day and Night Care Centre at Anna Catherina, launched a cash grant of $100,000 which will benefit over 13,000 newborns and trained hundreds of individuals in basic and advanced childcare, later assisting them to open their own home-based childcare facility.
“In 2026, the government will continue to provide childcare support and services as follows: We will complete the construction of the day and night care facility at Providence. We will commence construction of four additional day and night care centres in regions Two, Five, Six and Ten, for which the sum of $300 million is budgeted. We will co-invest with qualified private individuals to provide childcare services, and of course, we will continue our one-off cash grant for newborns,” he said.
Additionally, the government will continue to train persons to provide basic as well as advanced childcare services, and invest in safe, child-friendly spaces to promote recreational activities for families and communities.
Notably, for this year, the government aims to provide $1.5 billion to support co-investment in child and elderly care facilities on the condition that companies agree on a capped rate for these services.
Speaking on initiatives that empower women, the minister announced that these will continue.
Government aims to promote entrepreneurial opportunities and essential life skills among women. This includes the facilitation of hundreds of women-owned businesses at the We Lift Expo and the training of thousands of women through the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN).
“Our government will continue to promote deliberate policies to improve the welfare of our senior citizens. To this end, in addition to the monthly old age pension, we provided electricity subsidies to more than 31,000 and water subsidies to over 35,000 persons,” he said adding, “More than 8,500 pensioners benefitted from the National Eye Care Programme, 345 persons received assistive aids, and over 4,900 benefitted from home-based care.”
For this year, the government intends to expand home-based care, increase access to healthcare through telemedicine and mobile health units for rural and underserved areas, and virtual clinics for the elderly. Moreover, Dr. Singh said that the government will also co-invest in elderly care facilities, construct a new senior citizen home, and improve the quality of the care for the current residents of the Palms.
Additionally, government plans to increase old age pension from $41,000 to $46,000 per month. Approximately 95,000 pensioners are set to benefit from this, with an additional $5.7 billion of disposable income being made available to them.
Further, government will introduce an annual Transportation and Support Grant of $20,000 to every Old Age Pensioner, providing an additional injection of $1.9 billion in support.
For persons with disabilities (PWDs), the government will increase Public Assistance from $22,000 to $25,000 per month. This is set to benefit over 46,000 persons, placing an addition of $1.7 billion into the hands of PWDs.
Furthermore, $316.5 million is budgeted to begin the construction of Guyana’s first School for the Autistic at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE). It also caters for the construction of Special Education Needs (SEN) Centres in every region, and a SEN Unit at the Port Kaituma Primary in Region One.
