1st intake of students at UWI-backed medical school set for January 2025 – Dr Anthony

The Guyana Government is set to have the first intake of students into the University of West Indies (UWI)-backed medical school in January 2025.
The medical school, to be established in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), comes on the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UWI, and aligns with the administration’s move to modernise the local healthcare system.
In fact, the MOU provides for several prestigious science institutions to be developed in Guyana.
In an invited comment, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony told Guyana Times that the batch of students would be pioneers of the medical transformation Guyana would witness in coming years.
“So, we’re working on an MOU with the University of the West Indies. In that school, under that MOU, we’re looking at a number of things happening. One would be a medical school, a school for pharmacy and a school for nursing…The one in Region 6, we’re hoping to have a (full) intake of students in one of the programmes by January next year,” he said.
The establishment of a UWI School of Medicine in Guyana comes as the Government is investing heavily in enhancing the local healthcare system with the aim of developing a top health-tourism industry in the Region.
Earlier this year, President Irfaan Ali had revealed that the UWI School of Medicine had approached Guyana to have one of its campuses located in Guyana. The Guyanese Leader had, on several occasions, also indicated that the facility, which would have the same rates as other UWI facilities, would open up the possibility of attracting students from neighbouring Suriname, Brazil and other Caribbean nations.
In fact, during a recent ceremony to mark the construction of the Lethem Hospital in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), Ali revealed that investors from the state of Roraima in nearby Brazil are interested in financing the endeavour.
“Very soon, we will be signing with the University of West Indies an MoU to establish the University of West Indies Medical School, Pharmacy School and Nursing School right here in Guyana. And the regional authorities have already said to me that there is a group of investors from the state of Roraima who want to invest in a medical school and medical facility,” Dr Anthony revealed.
The investments, he added, would not only boost the quality of healthcare, but empower countless Guyanese with access to quality education in healthcare, equipping them with the necessary qualifications to propel the sector to massive heights.
Under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) – a free scholarship initiative introduced by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in 2021 — over 30,000 Guyanese students, 75 per cent of whom are females, have benefitted from some 345 programmes being offered by 19 universities across the world, including UWI.
In April 2024, it was reported that over 2000 Guyanese students had graduated from UWI programmes under the GOAL Scholarship initiative, and another 650-plus students were enrolled at the time.
In addition to the UWI School of Medicine, it has been reported that the Guyana Government had also been working on securing degree accreditation from the regional institute for its new nursing school. (G1)