Hinterland hospitals now performing hundreds of surgeries – Pres Ali

…says PPP investments replaced APNU/AFC neglect

President Dr Irfaan Ali has credited strategic investments by his administration for transforming the healthcare landscape in the hinterland regions, citing remarkable improvements in Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), where hospitals once unable to conduct surgeries are now performing hundreds annually.

Addressing indigenous leaders at the opening of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) Conference 2025 on Monday, the Head of State contrasted the healthcare performance under the APNU/AFC government with the achievements made under the PPP since 2020.
In Region One, President Ali revealed that under the APNU/AFC administration, the Mabaruma Regional Hospital managed only 15 surgeries between 2015 and 2019, while the Moruca District Hospital performed none. In stark contrast, the President reported that in 2024 alone, Mabaruma carried out 570 surgeries and Moruca performed 85 elective surgeries.
“These are the facts, this is the reality,” President Ali declared to the gathering. He further stated that nearly all complicated pregnancies in Region One were previously referred out of the region, with 99% requiring external assistance. However, due to investments in neonatal services and improved delivery of healthcare, there have been zero such referrals in 2024.
The medivac rate has also drastically declined. “Between 2015 and 2020, more than 15 per cent of patients sometimes had to be medivacked out of the region. In 2024, because of the investment we made, less than one per cent required medivac,” the President explained.
Additionally, Region One now benefits from more than 16 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), six ambulances, pickups, minibuses, motorbikes, and over 25 boats and engines to facilitate the transportation of patients and health workers. Drug and medical supply availability has also surged from below 30% between 2015 and 2019 to over 95% between 2021 and 2024.

High and exceptional quality
President Ali also highlighted similar advances in Region Nine. He pointed out that under APNU/AFC, the Lethem Regional Hospital recorded zero surgeries from 2015 to 2019. However, in 2024 alone, 1,216 surgeries were performed there. The hospital has even begun to attract patients from neighbouring Brazil.
“Today, the services of the Lethem Hospital are of such high and exceptional quality that we are now taking record numbers of patients from Brazil,” the President said.
Across Region Nine, there were no ophthalmology surgeries, no telemedicine facilities, no oxygen generation, and no vaccine refrigerators during the previous administration. Today, the situation is vastly different. Oxygen is now generated in the region, producing 2,100 large and 1,050 small cylinders, while telemedicine services and regional vaccine cold storage are operational.
Critical pregnancy referrals out of the region have dropped from 90% between 2015 and 2020 to under two per cent in 2024. Medical evacuations to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have plummeted from 39% to three per cent in the same timeframe.
Drug and medical supply availability in Region Nine has also seen major improvement, rising from 45 per cent under APNU+AFC to 90 per cent under the current administration.
President Ali criticised the APNU/AFC government for a complete lack of healthcare training initiatives in the region. “Between 2015 and 2019, zero nursing assistants were trained, zero medical laboratory technicians, zero NICU nurses, zero leadership training,” he said. “Between 2020 and 2024, we have trained more than 550 residents in these areas.”
He noted that Region Nine now has 25 vaccination sites and a regional cold storage facility. Additionally, there has been a 53 per cent reduction in malaria cases.
Further developments underway he pointed out includes the completion of a new Lethem Regional Hospital featuring surgical theatres, CT scan capabilities, and expanded emergency and pharmaceutical services. A new medical school will also be established to train healthcare professionals in the region.
“These are the investments that we are making,” the president affirmed, “to deliver a modern, efficient healthcare system in every region of Guyana.”