Guyana increasing Caribbean partnerships to change healthcare
Guyana has been increasing its partnerships with international bodies to holistically change the healthcare system of not only its country but also the Caribbean region.
Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony said that the government is establishing strong collaboration with other crucial health organisations so that the country can become the centre of healthcare teaching in this hemisphere.
“One of the partnerships that we have is with Mount Sinai and they are working with us to develop a whole suite of comprehensive oncology services. We are also looking to develop in the future and oncology centre where various modalities and treatment would become available,” the minister pointed out.
The health minister noted that the government is also working to collaborate with the James Anderson Institute which is found within the MD Anderson Cancer Centre to send a few Guyanese health practitioners to develop additional training.
Minister Anthony was speaking at the recent Caribbean Urological Association (CURA) 26th annual international conference at the Pegasus Hotel and Corporate Suite.
The event brought together healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers from across the Caribbean and beyond to address pressing issues in urology.
According to the minister, it is important for countries in this hemisphere to build out a programme where they can share their clinical expertise with each other to build a resilient regional health sector.
“So, we need to explore our opportunities not only at conferences like these but at other events and we have to look at how we can sustain them. We have to think about how we can have programmes like these where you can bring your expertise and work with our doctors here,” Minister Anthony said.
Based on observations, the minister noted that they are partially at this point as he has been seeing other Caribbean health professionals taking part in some of Guyana’s courses through the residency programme.
Guyana has been building out a massive healthcare system with modern infrastructure where it will be implementing advanced services to cater to the needs of its citizens.
The country is currently building close to 14 new hospitals which will all have modern services to treat as many diseases as possible.