‘Profound’ transformation needed to close health gaps after COVID devastation – PAHO

Guyana’s advancement in delivering quality health care has direct linkages to analysis from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on the need for significant transformation to close gaps as a result of COVID-19.
Three years after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, PAHO has noted, disruptions to essential health services remain a significant challenge in multiple countries of the Americas. Gaps exist in access and availability of human resources, infrastructure, supplies, equipment and financing.
Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Jarbas Barbosa, has called on countries of the Americas to maintain investments in health; promote innovation in primary care, with a focus on digital technologies; and move from theory to practice through specific policies, in order to overcome challenges in access to health services.
At the Monday opening of the virtual event titled “Strategies to ensure access to health services: overcoming barriers and guaranteeing continuity”, Dr Barbosa noted, “At PAHO, we view primary healthcare as a strategic approach that addresses the needs of people where they live. Our strategy for the expansion of primary healthcare in the 21st century is critical to address barriers in access, ensuring continuity in the provision of health services.”
Two PAHO regional reports on essential health services were presented during the meeting, providing a deeper insight into the wide range of factors that act as barriers to accessing primary health care, and taking into account the specific characteristics and needs of territories and populations.
The first report, “Analyze and Overcome the Access Barriers to Strengthening Primary Health Care”, presented the results of the collaboration between PAHO and its Member States to examine ways to address access barriers to primary healthcare; and formulate innovative policies to reduce and eliminate them, with particular emphasis on vulnerable populations.
The second report, “Fourth round of the national survey on the continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic”, showed results of national surveys on essential health services during the pandemic, provided an overview on health system disruptions, and analysed data patterns from the 17 countries and territories that participated.
“Even before the pandemic began, we faced unequal access and a variety of barriers which prevented us from achieving true equality. Prior to COVID-19, approximately 29.3 per cent of the population in the Americas had unmet health needs, affecting some 295 million people,” the PAHO Director underlined.
Both reports concur that the arrival of the pandemic significantly intensified those barriers, resulting in disruptions to both supply and demand of essential health services. This reversed the progress made over the past 20 years towards universal access to health and universal coverage in the Region of the Americas.
“Primary healthcare is key to overcoming these challenges. It is the lifeblood of resilient health systems and universal health, and key to ensuring better preparedness for future crises and greater equity in health services. It is also fundamental to reversing pandemic trends in maternal and child mortality rates, increasing immunization coverage, and accelerating the elimination of communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria,” Dr Barbosa remarked.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had expended approximately $1 billion in 2022 to upgrade primary healthcare facilities across the country. This is continuing with more funding to revamp facilities, offer new services, and expanding their reach beyond the coastal communities.