GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—The Ministry of Health has signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with several healthcare providers to ramp up Cervical Cancer testing and promote eye care among the vulnerable.
The ministry has partnered with the private sector to ensure that these initiatives, which are set to roll out this week, benefit a broad cross-section of society.
According to health officials, early detection is essential, and $2.8 billion has been earmarked to provide women between the ages of 21 and 65 with a GUY$8,0000 voucher; women are found to be predominantly diagnosed with this type of cancer.
The vouchers are intended to meet the cost of cervical testing and are redeemable at five private institutions.
According to Dr Latchmie Lall, the Director of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health, the government aims to screen 211,000 women in keeping with the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030.
“The ministry, in all of its deliberations, we came up with a straightforward algorithm where we will start, firstly, with HPV testing, and that’s why our partners are here today,” she pointed out.
Speaking at the signing ceremony was the Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who underscored the critical role of the private sector in the government’s aim of ramping up testing for cervical cancer.
He stressed that for the system to function efficiently, both partners must cooperate and fulfill their respective roles on time.
“I think what is also very important here is that for the first time, we are working with such a large private sector group, and while we don’t envisage any difficulty, we would all have to work on building this relationship together,” he said.
“The other thing that we’ll try to do as we roll out this program, we will convene meetings at different points in time where we’ll ask you to come so that if there’s any difficulty, any challenges that you’re finding, maybe you’re not responding in time or whatever it is, that we’ll be able to pick these things up and fix them before they become a major problem.”
Concerning the National Eyecare Programme, a $3,000 voucher will be provided to persons needing an eye test. Subsequently, if they require a spectacle, they will receive a $15,000 voucher.
“We are not covering the full cost …we are only contributing $15,000 to that cost…When you do the screening, if you find that they have other types of problems that cannot be rectified with the spectacles…whether it’s a cataract or something else, we can put them through a different program,” the minister stressed.
Some $840 million has been earmarked in the national budget for eye tests, and $995 million will subsidize the cost of spectacles.
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