Jagdeo calls out Norton’s ‘dishonest’ accusations on maternal deaths; highlights gains made in healthcare sector

– A dedicated Maternal and Paediatric Hospital to open in 2026

General and Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected accusations made by the presidential candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton, who said maternal deaths are on the rise.

This reckless assertion made at its campaign launch on Sunday, according to Dr Jagdeo, exposes the dishonest nature of the People’s National Congress Reform-led APNU.

Contrary to what Norton has said, the Ministry of Health’s most recent data paints a very different picture. In fact, maternal deaths due to postpartum haemorrhage dropped from 23 cases in 2019 to just 14 in 2024, and neonatal deaths saw a 60 per cent reduction in the first nine months of 2024, falling from 68 to 28 when compared to the same period in 2023.

Importantly, the government is investing billions of dollars to construct a world-class Maternal and Paediatric Hospital along the new Ogle to Eccles Highway, which he said will open its doors in 2026.

And “To have Norton go at his campaign launch…falsely claim that maternal death is on the rise…is representative of how dishonest they are, and their whole campaign is,” he stated during his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.

The vice president said it is important for him to “visually remind” the public of how far Guyana’s health sector has transformed in the last five years, noting that upon returning to office in 2020, the administration was met with a crumbling health system.

This, he said, was compounded by the previous APNU+AFC coalition government’s illegitimate grasp for power and the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic hit an unprepared country.

GS Jagdeo recalled a critical meeting with healthcare professionals at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) who painted a bleak picture: unfinished hospitals, no oxygen supply, no COVID testing, and no basic infrastructure.

“And it seems as though all that the government had focused on in the period … was trying to steal the elections rather than keeping our people safe,” he told reporters.

Despite grappling with economic shocks from the pandemic, the administration moved to develop a new healthcare strategy that focused first on reversing the deterioration and then on building a world-class system as promised in their manifesto.

He mentioned receiving complaints in 2021 about the Enmore Polyclinic and personally requesting photos of its poor condition, which is seen in the picture below:

This facility has now been transformed into a new hospital that offers services such as gynaecology, audiology, dentistry, ophthalmology, psychological support, neonatal, and general medicine services. These services were previously unavailable on the East Coast.

Through a $38 billion investment, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration is constructing six modern regional hospitals, two of which have now been commissioned.

When these projects are completed, they will add 450 additional inpatient beds, 12 state-of-the-art operating theatres, six fully equipped, 24/7 departments, CT scanners, digital X-ray units, neonatal units, operating theatres, ultrasound machines and fully equipped modern labs.

And communities on the coast are not the lone beneficiaries. New hospitals are being built in Moruca (Region One), Kamarang (Region Seven), Kato (Region Eight) and Lethem in Region Nine. Major upgrades are underway at existing hospitals in Bartica, Linden, and West Demerara, reflecting the government’s commitment to creating a world-class healthcare system.

The budgetary allocations for the healthcare sector have also significantly increased, with $143.2 billion allocated in the 2025 fiscal plan.

“We just didn’t talk about it. We are doing it, and that’s what the People’s Progressive Party is about,” the PPP general secretary underscored.