Local drug supplier registers COVID-19 medicine

Feb 11, 2022 News

…Govt. hopeful to meet demands
…as billions approved for Health Sector

Kaieteur News –

The Infectious Disease Hospital at Liliendaal, ECD

By Gary Eleazar
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic last year forced the Ministry of Health to dip into the coffers higher than what was approved for spending in the past year but substantive Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony is confident the 2022 allocation for the sector will be sufficient to meet the demands.
To this end, he disclosed to the House that at least one local supplier has registered ‘molnupiravir’ in Guyana and “hopefully, they will be able to supply that particular drug.”
Dr. Anthony made the revelation during the final day of the consideration of the $552.9B Budgetary Estimates of which his Ministry was allocated $19.9B for its capital programmes and billions more under its recurrent programmes including monies for the purchase of drugs and medical supplies.
Dr. Anthony’s Shadow Counterpart in the House, Dr. Karen Cummings, during the consideration, a $6.2B allocation for the Disease Control—Communicable Diseases—Department of the Ministry, sought an update on the new tablets that the Minister had hinted at, for use in the treatment for COVID-19 patients. She was at the time, pointing to the decrease in allocations for drugs and medical supplies under that programme head and queried its sufficiency, since the line item indicated—as she understood it—also caters for the supplies to the Infectious Disease Hospital, commonly referred to as the COVID-19 Hospital at Ocean View, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
As such, Dr. Cummings was informed that it is the intention of the Ministry to procure some of the newer approved treatment for COVID-19 but lamented a lack of availability.

LOCAL SUPPLIER

According to Minister Anthony, countries such as the United States of America and those in Europe have been eating into the global supply and as such, access to some of those drugs has been very limited. He informed that a “local company has registered molnupiravir in Guyana and” intimated that government is hopeful “they will be able to supply that particular drug.
It would be apposite to note that during the Budget Debate in the National Assembly on Friday last, Alliance For Change (AFC) General Secretary, David Patterson had pointed out that “an examination of the 2021 procurement highlights what the nation has always known—this government is about projects for friends and families.”
It was at this point that Patterson disclosed to the National Assembly that not only had Vice President Bharrat, Jagdeo’s ‘best friend’, and one other controversial supplier been handed 85 percent of all the monies allocated for drugs and medical supplies, but billions more had been earmarked this year for contractors that have not only been banned locally but internationally.
According to Patterson, based on public records, New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) last year received $13.8B (US$70M) in contracts, and quipped, “…we all are aware who is the best friend of the owner.” He was at the time referencing Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo and New GPC owner Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop.
It would be apposite to note that New GPC was up to 1999, a State owned Company. Vice President Jagdeo, in August 1999 assumed Office as Executive President of Guyana and by December of that year, the company was sold to Dr. Ramroop. A first tranche was paid but before the remainder could be paid off, government re-evaluated the business and told Dr. Ramroop to pay a lesser amount. Patterson in his presentation noted, that not only did Dr. Ramroop’s company get the lion’s share of government drug contracts last year but the administration then turned around and paid Dr. Ramroop to store the very drugs it was buying from his company.

THINGS WE NEED

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony

Meanwhile during yesterday’s session of the consideration, pointing specifically to a $4.1B allocation for medicine and medical supplies and the Ocean View Hospital—one of the many allocations for which COVID related measures are being met—Dr. Anthony said some $1.1B, of that money, will go directly for that facility. He noted that the money would be used to purchase “things we need for patients who are going to be admitted there,” and pointed to items such as oxygen, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The Minister noted that there is more than $776M allocated for laboratories, the purchase of reagents needed for PCR tests among other allocations such as $523M budgeted for a health emergency operating centre. Additionally, the Minister said government will be constructing a surgical theatre at the COVID-19 Hospital and qualified the position by pointing to the fact that very many of the patients at the Infectious Disease Hospital require surgical intervention.
With this in mind, the Minister told the House that government will be installing a surgical theatre at the Hospital in order to prevent having to take the COVID-19 positive patients to surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

MINISTRY RENTING

It was disclosed during the consideration of the Estimates that government will this year also purchase a dialysis machine for the hospital, since according to the Minister, while the administration currently provides the service at the facility, the machine is being rented.
Expounding further on the allocations for the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Hospital, Dr. Anthony told the House that an additional $121M had been allocated for works including the new theatre in addition to ensuring that there is piped oxygen being supplied to each of the 195 beds at the facility.
Speaking further on the matter of oxygen, Dr. Anthony told the House, the money has been set aside to construct the base for an oxygen plant—a donation that is yet to arrive in the country. “Unfortunately, it has not arrived as yet; we are having challenges,” Dr. Anthony said, in relation to the donation from a humanitarian organisation.
According to Dr. Anthony, the oxygen has already been packaged but its shipping was delayed.
Additionally he said, there is “a whole host of equipment” to be purchased including cardiac monitors, beds and the dialysis machine among others.
Observing that the majority of the allocation under that programme was going directly towards the hospital, opposition Member of Parliament, Tabitha Sarabo-Haley sought to ascertain what amounts was being allocated for preventative measures as opposed to when somebody ends up in hospital.

TRANSPORTATION

To this end, the House was informed that when it comes to COVID-19 specifically, there were provisions under various heads in relation to the pandemic such as allocations for PPE under other line items, “we do have those allocations.”
With COVID-19 and government’s response to the pandemic dominating that round of scrutiny of the expenditure, the Members of Parliament were informed that some of the increases. One such being the staffing strength under one department, had to do with persons recruited as part of the national vaccine drive.
Another $60M has also been budgeted for the transportation of vaccines across the various regions including land and air. It was pointed out that some items such as refrigerators that had been purchased could not be taken to some locations by air and as such, provisions had to be made for land transport. Additionally, the Ministry in addition to purchasing an additional vehicle for the transport of staff and vaccines, Dr. Anthony related that the Ministry has had to resort to the rentals of buses and other types of transportation and that this will continue into this year.