PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons says the healthcare sector in Suriname has “deteriorated significantly” in recent years, outlining new initiatives to help reverse the situation.
“Without a healthy population, a country cannot develop. Our goal is a healthcare system that not only responds to illness but actively protects and promotes health,” President Geerlings-Simons said in her first annual address to Parliament.
“Health is not a privilege, but a right,” she said, indicating that the health agenda for 2026 and 2027 would focus on prevention and primary care, digital care and data collection, healthcare financing, and the State Health Insurance Fund, among other areas.
“Our Suriname, with its small population, carries a heavy disease burden, largely caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases. But also communicable diseases, including HIV. Diseases that have long been under control elsewhere in the world,” President Geerlings-Simons said.
She told legislators that these diseases claim the most lives in the country, placing a heavy burden on the economy. She reiterated that prevention will be central to the implementation of government policy, “especially because prevention and the quality of care have deteriorated significantly during the past term.”
The head of state spoke of the high rates of suicide, domestic violence, and femicide in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, announcing national programmes to break down stigmas and expand mental health care.
In addition, additional investments are being made in prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal care to reduce the high maternal and infant mortality rates.
She said Suriname is accelerating the implementation of electronic patient records, telehealth, and e-prescriptions. That space is also being created for traditional and alternative medicine, provided it is adequately regulated and securely integrated into the system.
The president also acknowledged the significant outflow of doctors and nurses, promising improved working conditions, career development, and collaboration with friendly countries to deploy foreign medical personnel temporarily.
During her address, President Geerlings-Simons said that the government will activate a national housing fund in 2026.
“Housing, as previously stated, is not only an economic sector, but also of great social importance. Especially during the period when oil revenues begin to flow in, land and housing will become more expensive.
“Therefore, a special program will be needed to provide Surinamese people with access to housing during that period as well,” Geerlings-Simons told legislators.
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