As Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has held a significant position to not only shape healthcare delivery in Guyana but also to honour the strides made before his tenure. Recently, however, his public discourse has shown a memory problem —one that often ignores the efforts made by previous administrations, and worse, appears silent on the dire state of the health system during the 23 years of PPP rule.
Let me remind the Honourable Minister of just a few examples of efforts made to uplift healthcare, particularly in hinterland regions like Region One:
In 2019, under the leadership of then Minister Volda Lawrence and with the tireless dedication of regional health professionals in Region One saw the injection of G$44M in emergency medical support. This included a water ambulance for the Moruca Sub-District and a road ambulance for the Kumaka District Hospital—a lifeline for thousands of residents who would otherwise suffer delays in accessing critical care.
There was also the construction of new living quarters for doctors at the Mabaruma Regional Hospital and the deployment of four additional General Medical Officers, addressing a crippling 50% human resource deficit in the region. These were concrete, documented steps toward improving health outcomes and expanding access, long before Dr. Anthony’s tenure.
The Mabaruma Hospital was selected as a candidate for the SMART Hospital initiative, a British-funded, PAHO/WHO-executed program aimed at building disaster-resilient, energy-efficient medical facilities. One must ask: where does this stand today?
In parallel, the health sector saw advancements in human resource training. In 2019, the Georgetown Public Hospital graduated 20 Operating Room Technicians (ORTs), some of whom came from interior hospitals like Mabaruma. They received training in disciplines ranging from general surgery to nephrology, highlighting a national effort to raise healthcare standards across the board—not just in urban centres.
Dr. Anthony, if you wish to champion transparency and progress, let us begin with an honest reflection.
Why have you avoided public reckoning with the deplorable conditions of hospitals during the previous 23 years under PPP rule—your own party? Those years were marked by:
- Rusting beds and broken, non-functional medical equipment.
- Stacks of expired drugs lining storerooms while patients suffered due to medicine shortages.
- No systematic training programs for medical professionals, leaving hospitals understaffed and underqualified.
- Maternity wards plagued by high maternal and infant death rates.
- Reports of medical evacuations misused to transport party comrades, rather than patients in genuine emergency.
Why the silence, Minister?
Your current responsibilities must include not only addressing present challenges but also recognising the progress made before you—and confronting the mistakes made by your own administration in years past.
The people of Guyana, especially those in underserved regions like Barima-Waini, deserve transparency, not revisionist history. Let us talk openly about the past, and only then can we truly move forward toward a healthier future for all.
