$143.2B budgeted for health sector

Jan 18, 2025 News

… $56B earmarked for drugs and infrastructural upgrades

The government of Guyana has budgeted $143.2 billion in the 2025 national Budget for the expansion and mordernisation of the health sector with a significant portion of the allocation earmarked for the purchase of drugs and infrastructural upgrades.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh announced that $28.1 billion has been budgeted for the completion and commissioning of the Paediatric and Maternity Hospital at Ogle and the six regional hospitals at Lima, De Kinderen, Diamond, Enmore, Bath and No. 75 Village, advance works on the construction of four regional hospitals at Moruca, West Demerara, New Amsterdam and Kato, and upgrade the Lethem Regional Hospital.

A healthcare worker provides service to a patient at a public health facility in Guyana (DPI)

During his presentation of the 2025 National Budget on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Dr. Singh said that $852 million is budgeted to complete the Health Sciences Training complexes at Suddie and New Amsterdam, and for the construction of two dormitories for the said training complexes.

“For the design and construction of a Medicines Regulatory Laboratory and Office Complex, a national neurological rehabilitation centre and a centre of excellence for cancer treatment a sum of $2.9 billion is budgeted. The upgrade and retrofit of health facilities and living quarters a sum of $6.5 billion is budgeted,” Dr. Singh said.

He continued, “As we continue to expand the equipment inventory, we have made it possible to provide new surgeries for the first time, including at GPHC the first laparoscopic kidney transplant through the introduction of paediatric liver resection and bariatric and minimally invasive surgeries.”

TELEMEDICINE

Notably, Dr. Singh said the government has also added to its fleet of medical equipment nationwide and introduced telemedicine sites across Regions 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

To advance this cause, in 2024 $3.1 billion was spent on medical equipment. However, this year an additional $4.3 billion has been allocated.

In relation to drugs and medical supplies, Dr. Singh said expanded vaccine storage capacity with 14 regional vaccine storage units, additional walk-in refrigerators in Regions Six and 10, vaccine refrigerators at an additional 99 facilities countrywide and in 2024 added two vaccination boats for outreaches in the hinterland regions.

“In 2024, a sum of $24.2 billion was expended, and this year another $28 billion is provided for drugs and medical supplies to ensure that basic necessities are readily available.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Singh said that with the aim of world class healthcare, including the expansion of services in the regions, the government is conscious of the need to ensure adequate and qualified healthcare professionals.

To this end, he said the government has expanded nursing, clinical and technical training programmes with 2,037 persons graduated since 2020, with a further 3,761 currently in training and an additional 3,290 projected for 2025.

“Furthermore, we have enhanced our capacity to train through online platforms including unlimited access to COURSERA with training offered in Nursing Assistant and Professional Nursing programmes. Additionally, we will ramp up the intake of nurses and doctors under our bilateral partnerships,” Dr. Singh said.

The minister said that since taking office, the government has continued to promote preventative healthcare through targeted programmes.

“Screening for chronic diseases was done to over 90,000 persons in 2024 surpassing the total target of 70,000, and in 2025 we have targeted 100,000 persons. Additionally, the further rolling out of the HEARTS protocol is expected at an additional 163 sites,” he said.

With regard to mental health, the finance minister noted that Government has updated the legal framework for mental health through the Suicide Act 2022 and the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act 2022 and have operationalised the Mental Health Board.

“Furthermore, we have also trained 622 healthcare professionals to provide counselling and mental health interventions, along with the expansion to an 18-bed mental health ward at GPHC. Importantly, as part of efforts to address mental health across the country, the current New Amsterdam Hospital will be converted to a mental health facility with the closure of the old National Psychiatric Hospital,” he said.

($143.2B budgeted for health sector)

(health sector)

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Arthur Chung Conference Centre, health sector, hinterland regions, infrastructural upgrades

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