“We want to completely eliminate malaria”– Health Minister

As of last year, Guyana recorded a total of 21,729 cases of malaria which was an increase when compared to 20,800 recorded in 2022. In this regard Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony has said that much effort is being placed to have malaria completely eliminated in Guyana.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony for workers who completed several cohorts of courses in project management, policy management, advocacy for global health amongst others, Dr. Anthony spoke of the ministry’s plans to completely eliminate malaria. Whilst congratulating the individuals who participated in the various programs, he highlighted that in an effort to standardise health care, the ministry in collaboration with various US based institutions such as Harvard and Northwell have been developing guidelines for various diseases such as diabetes and malaria. In this regard Dr. Anthony noted that the ministry in collaboration with Harvard University has been working together in an effort to eliminate malaria, starting with Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

“We have a partnership with Harvard, they have been working with us on doing things in malaria vector control and so fourth and we will be extending that partnership because we want to work with them on the elimination of malaria starting with Region Nine. So, we have a program, we will start with region nine then branch off into the other regions,” he said.
It was noted that most malaria cases mostly found in gold mining areas and to tackle this the ministry plans to provide gold miners and persons working at mining sites with training in diagnostic testing and also distributed rapid test kits across the various administrative regions. Last month, the health ministry launched a mass net distribution campaign in Aishalton, Region Nine. The campaign focused on distributing long lasting insecticide treated nets to curb the spread of mosquito borne diseases particularly in mining zones and epidemic areas in Regions One (Barima-Waini); Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); Nine and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice). The minister said that with efforts like these and less malaria cases will be recorded in Guyana.
Transform
Meanwhile he also spoke of efforts to transform the healthcare environment and improve the standard of care in the country, adding that government will continue to provide programs like the E-Learning Program to ensure healthcare providers are constantly learning and are equipped with the skillsets and knowledge that will bolster patient care in Guyana. Additionally, the minister noted that over the past two years the government has allocated $300 million to enhance healthcare facilities across the country, as of this year the government has allotted a total of $500 million this year to each region to further enhance healthcare facilities. Similarly, a total of $5 billion has been allotted to aid in purchasing medial equipment. He also said that a total of eight new hospitals are currently being constructed across the country with construction works set to commence on another five later down in the year. These initiatives highlight the government’s commitment to transform the health sector in Guyana. Guyana’s public health sector received a whopping $129.8 billion, the largest ever budgetary allocation to this sector, as the government seeks to train more nurses, build more modern health facilities and tackle chronic diseases that affect thousands of people annually.