-as health-care voucher roll out for 2026 gets underway

MINISTER of Health Dr Frank Anthony has made an appeal for men across Guyana to make greater use of the national health voucher programme, noting that low uptake undermines efforts to detect chronic diseases and prostate cancer, early.

Dr Anthony made this known while speaking at the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Health and private service providers, during which he noted that programme data shows that men account for just 36 per cent of adult voucher utilisation, compared with the women’s 64 per cent.

“When we look at the adult voucher, the men hardly come in,” the minister said, adding, “Only about 36 per cent were men, and that is a big problem.”

He stressed that the imbalance is especially concerning, given that prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in Guyana.

Against this backdrop, he noted that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is included in the adult laboratory voucher and plays an important role in early detection.

“One of the tests that we put on this voucher is the PSA… While it’s not a direct marker on its own, if it is elevated and we see other symptoms, it gives us a good indication, and once we find that, we are able to do a biopsy,” he said.

To this end, he noted that increased screening has already allowed health authorities to diagnose more men earlier and bring them into treatment, thus improving outcomes. However, he warned that many men continue to avoid routine testing until symptoms become severe.

“By the time some men come to us, the disease has already progressed,” he said, while adding, “We want to catch these things earlier.”

Apart from prostate cancer, Dr Anthony said that voucher data has revealed widespread undiagnosed chronic illness among men. Of the 37,612 people who accessed HbA1c testing, 8,440 recorded very elevated results, indicating diabetes or poor glycaemic control, with many patients unaware they were at risk.

“Quite a few of them probably didn’t even know they had a problem,” the minister said, as he noted that using the vouchers allows authorities to identify what is going on and bring people into care.

As such, he said the ministry hopes to boost male participation through various means and address issues earlier.

“We want more men to get these vouchers and get themselves tested,” Minister Anthony said. “If we get people earlier, we can prevent these conditions from progressing.”