Latest update September 18th, 2026 10:25 AM
Fast-growing Guyana still depends on private planes for medevac
…Region 1 residents lament
By Khadidja Ba
The death of a three-day-old infant at the Mabaruma Regional Hospital while awaiting an urgent air evacuation has exposed critical gaps in the national medical transfer system, raising questions about why a country branded as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies does not own a single dedicated aircraft for emergency medical evacuations.
Despite operating in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the Ministry of Health relies entirely on a messaging group to secure emergency air evacuations, a practice now under the microscope following the death of the infant in Region One.
Photo of planes in Mabaruma for the government outreach a week before Correia’s baby needed a plane to be brought to Georgetown (Pic: Lurlene Nestor)
Kaieteur News understands that when a medical emergency arises in a hinterland region, attending doctors trigger a medevac request. The request is then posted directly into an official Ministry of Health WhatsApp group, which includes private commercial aircraft operators who service those routes. Questions now mount as to why no plane was made available for the newborn, despite nurses executing their duty by notifying health authorities, who in turn alerted service providers via the designated group.
Local sources confirmed that commercial aircraft fly in and out of the Region One area daily. Furthermore, Kaieteur News observed multiple planes present in Mabaruma during the week before to facilitate government outreach exercises.
Despite aircraft operating nearby and the urgent request being logged, no commercial provider diverted to assist, nor was an emergency flight chartered. The system failure highlights the state’s total dependence on private operators, as the Government of Guyana does not own a single dedicated air ambulance to service critical hinterland emergencies.
The tragedy has also raised serious concerns over why the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) did not deploy military air assets when commercial options failed to materialise. On 1st January, 2026, the GDF successfully completed its first medical evacuation operation of the year from Bartica to Georgetown. At the time, the Force stated that its actions “underscored the Force’s readiness to support national emergency response efforts.”
A three-day fight for life
The infant, born on 10th August, 2026, to Stacy Correia, a healthcare worker attached to the Matthews Ridge (Pakera) Hospital, died on Thursday afternoon at the Mabaruma Regional Hospital while awaiting air transport to the capital. Correia, who was classified as a high-risk pregnancy, was initially referred from Matthews Ridge to the Port Kaituma Hospital on Sunday before being transferred to Mabaruma, where she gave birth early Monday morning.
Though initially stable, the newborn developed severe respiratory distress later that day. Nursing staff found the baby cyanotic (blue) with a Random Blood Sugar (RBS) reading of 23, a critical level requiring immediate specialised intervention. Staff immediately placed the baby on a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.
By Tuesday, medical staff determined the child required transfer to Georgetown for specialised care. Transfers were initially delayed due to a lack of available Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds across receiving hospitals. Space was finally secured at the West Demerara Regional Hospital on Wednesday. Compounding the crisis, Mabaruma Regional Hospital suffered repeated power outages that disrupted oxygen delivery equipment.
“The doctors at the NICU were consulting other doctors, saying that they were having constant power outages, and every time [the baby] came off the machine, they had to bag him,” a close relative explained.
The infant succumbed on Thursday afternoon while still awaiting the medevac. His family maintains he would have survived had an emergency airlift been dispatched when his symptoms first appeared.
Kaieteur News also understands that the family does not expect “anything to come out of this.”
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