Govt expands regional medical bonds to improve storage and access to drugs

The government is constructing a series of regional medical bonds across Guyana to reduce shortages, improve the storage of medicines and eliminate wastage within the public health system.

The initiative is intended to ensure medical supplies are more readily available countrywide, specifically in the hinterland and remote communities.

Speaking on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said new facilities are being equipped with proper storage systems for medicines, reagents and vaccines, including cold storage capacity where necessary.

“We will be able to send medicine into the regions to have stocks for maybe a year or more, and so they should not have a problem with medicines because they would be able to get the medicines right in their region,” Minister Anthony explained.

Medical bonds are currently under construction at Mabaruma in Region One, Suddie in Region Two, Region Six, Mahdia in Region Eight and Lethem in Region Nine.

“These are huge bonds, and we feel that this is going to make a difference once they are completed,” the minister said.

He added that the facilities are expected to begin opening within the next three to four months.

In addition, the minister highlighted improvements in the distribution of medicines nationwide, noting that only a few years ago coverage stood at around 39 per cent. It now stands between 90 and 95 per cent coverage across the country.

The ministry is also developing a digital tracking system to monitor medication from the point it leaves the material management unit (MMU) at Diamond to regional hospitals or health centres and ultimately the patient receiving it.

He noted that under the previous system, unused medication at health centres often expired and had to be discarded.

The new tracking mechanism will allow the ministry to identify medicines nearing expiration and redistribute them to areas where they are needed.

DPI