Gov’t to spend $31.2B on health sector for 2017

Government plans to inject $31.2 billion into the health sector next year in hopes of furthering its plans to achieve universal coverage.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan, during the presentation of the proposed 2017 national budget, said the allocation will finance government’s efforts to create an “efficient, modern health system, with adequate human capacity and quality health infrastructure.”

The proposed allocation for health represents a more that $3 billion increase over the $28 billion allocated in the 2016 budget and nearly $6 billion more than the $22.1B allocated in the APNU+AFC’s inaugural budget in 2015.

During his presentation on Monday in the National Assembly, Jordan noted that in 2016, the Ministry of Public Health spent $48.4 million on medical evacuation (medevac) services for 93 cases that were unable to be treated in their respective regions and which were referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), which is the national referral hospital.

As a result, the focus of the 2017 health budget, he said, will be on equipping and upgrading district hospitals to deliver the full suite of mandated services, which would lead to greater equity between the hinterland and coastland.

He announced too that the government will spend $2 billion for the improvement and maintenance of health infrastructure countrywide, with particular emphasis being placed on upgrading health facilities for district level hospitals and comfortable living quarters to attract the necessary medical personnel in the hinterland, in areas such as Baramita, Bartica, Kamarang, Mahdia, Port Kaituma, and Annai.

“Investment in health infrastructure and the ability to attract skilled health human resources are critical for delivering specialist health services, especially in remote hinterland communities,” Jordan explained before adding that specialists in areas such as paediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, dental, and general surgery, will be deployed in regions 1, 8, and 9.

In 2016, some $1.9 billion was allocated for the construction, upgrade, expansion and maintenance of health care facilities nationwide.

The 2017 health budget will also prioritise the upgrade of Guyana’s laboratory facilities, bringing them “up to a modern and international standard,” Jordan said.

To this end, a sum of $110 million is budgeted for the Food and Drug Department to begin construction of a new laboratory and administrative building, and a further $65 million will be used to procure laboratory supplies, quality control aids, and proficiency testing materials.

According to the minister, “progress is being made by the Department to gain accreditation for its laboratories, which certify food product manufacturers, exporters, and re-packagers.”

Additionally, he said the National Public Health Reference Laboratory will aim to strengthen its Quality Management System, with the end goal of achieving the ISO 15189 accreditation relating to quality management system requirements. This, Jordan noted, will minimise dependence on overseas testing.

In the area of Maternal and Child Health (MCH), Jordan said five bottlenecks and proposed solutions identified by Millennium Developmental Goals Acceleration Framework (MAF) to improve maternal health continue to guide the interventions.

Consequently, he said the ongoing work of the MCH Unit will be supplemented by the ‘Support to Improve Maternal Child Health’ initiative, which will come online in the new year, with the support of a development partner. Upon successful implementation, Jordan said the US$8 million project will contribute to the reduction of maternal, perinatal, and neonatal deaths in Guyana through strengthening the primary level of care for health services in regions 3, 4, and 9; improving the supply chain for contraceptive methods, drugs, and blood products; strengthening of the maternity waiting home strategy, including the development of individual and community plans to support women and newborns; improving health information; training of health workers in the regions; and strengthening the capacity of the MCH Unit.

The minister also noted that government has prioritised the training of mental health professionals in recognition of mental health as an important part of one’s physical health, and in light of the upsurge in suicides.

“A total of 250 of these health workers was trained in 2016, and over 300 of them will be targeted in 2017,” Jordan said, before adding that construction of the Mental Health Institute is expected to begin in the second half of the upcoming year.

Additionally, over $6.5 billion has been allocated to procure drugs and medical supplies for citizens who access public health facilities. The same amount was allocated for this purpose in the 2016 budget.

Jordan also said that while adequate sums of money have been allocated, the “population continues to experience frequent non-availability of drugs and medical supplies at almost every public health facility, suggesting a number of problems in the procurement, storage, and distribution systems.” “This problem will be arrested by ensuring that the process is informed by data driven health information systems in order to ensure more consistent supplies and avoidance of waste,” he stressed.