Speaking at the commissioning of the newly rehabilitated Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) staff quarters, His Excellency, President David Granger, stated that Guyana has recognized the need to respond to local and transnational public health challeges.
He noted that the prevalence of transnational health challenges, such as the novel coronavirus, Zika, and H1N1 virus, had the potential to overwhelm national public health systems of small states.
“Guyana…, [has] refocused its attention to protecting the population from harm,” the president said.
He outlined several priorities which his government will focus on to safeguard the health and wellness of Guyanese, including a significant increase in investments in the public health system over the next 10 years, the Decade of Development.
“Public expenditure on health care will achieve or surpass the PAHO-WHO target of six percent of GDP, by the end of the Decade,” the president assured.
President Granger added that priority would be on primary healthcare to achieve universal health coverage.
“Preventive health care will be emphasised to reducing the incidence of non-communicable diseases, which now account for more than 70 per cent of all deaths.”
