‘A government that delivers’

ACTION-ORIENTED and people-centred programmes implemented by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) slowly improved and currently stand at the lowest it has ever been in Guyana’s history. Child mortality rates now stand at 13 per every

These initiates were also extended to the hinterland communities and plans are afoot to further advance the sector.

“Ten more smart classrooms will be established at the primary level shortly. To promote e-learning for hinterland students, a total of 102 hinterland students were accommodated at a CPCE (Cyril Potter College of Education) Turkeyen campus for of some of the highlights [of the] qualitative impact of the investment we have made in the education sector now,” Dr. Ali said.

Agriculture

In the area of agriculture and food security, Guyana has emerged as a leader in CARICOM, advancing the agri-food system agenda.

“We are now a leading voice in prioritising food and energy security and cli- cent increase in the budgetary allocation, moving from 13.3 billion in 2019 to 33.2 billion in 2023,” Dr Ali said.

Guyana, he said, is bridging the production gap and ramping up production. Crops such as rice, sugar, corn and soya production, and high-value crops are expanding rapidly. government, over the past three years, have resulted in tremendous improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, education, and social welfare, among other things.

During a recent press conference, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, highlighted some of the party’s achievements and proposed plans to improve the lives of Guyanese.

“My government has set itself as a results-driven, action-oriented government. Everything we do is based on quantitative and qualitative results and action-oriented,” the Head of State said.

Reflecting on the party’s manifesto, Dr Ali recalled plans to transform the country’s health sector.

“We promise that people will be able to live long productive lives here in Guyana. Sub-components of these promises included having disease diagnosed earlier, having access to the best treatment available in the modern world, reducing child mortality drastically to being among the lowest in CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and the Americas, reducing maternal mortality to achieving safe conception, gestation and safe delivery of babies, improving patient and family experience in the health sector,” the Head of State said.

He added that, thus far, Guyana has seen an improvement in life expectancy in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a dip in life expectancies in countries around the world. He revealed that the country has maintained a life expectancy of 70 years old as compared to 68 years old in 2020.

In relation to the reduction of child mortality rates, these rates, Dr. Ali said, have

1,000 births as opposed to 19 per 1,000 births in 2020.

Additionally, the Head of State revealed that maternal mortality has reached its lowest ever, as those rates now stand at 96 per 10,000 deliveries compared to 170 per 10,000 deliveries in 2017.

Among other improvements made in the country’s healthcare sector, it was also noted that cardiac surgery is now being provided in large numbers both in the private sector and at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

With this, Dr Ali said that paediatric cardiac surgery is now not only established, but also a regular programme at the GPHC.

Some 12 children benefitted from open-heart surgery this year, and the expectation is to increase that number to over 40 children per year in the near future.

The number of overall surgeries has increased and is now approaching over 22,000 per year. President Ali then took the time to recognise the efforts of the nurses and doctors and other healthcare workers.

The annual budget for healthcare has increased by almost 150 per cent in just three years, from $35 billion to $85 billion.

Education

Regarding education, the government has been able to maintain some 526 schools which reflects 58 per cent of all schools annually.

The President further revealed that some, 4,737 computer devices were procured and distributed to teachers and students, and ten smart classrooms were established at secondary schools to facilitate the integration of ICT. into the teaching-learning process.

both face-to-face interaction and online training.

“As part of our efforts to enhance and expand the coverage of the Guyana Learning Channel, 91 solar power systems have been installed and 1,353 lessons developed and broadcast. This is important in ensuring equity in education,” Dr. Ali said.

Within the last three years, a total of 4,213 teachers were trained to use the new curriculum at the primary and nursery levels and by the end of this year, a total of 4,913 teachers would have completed this training to deliver the new curriculum.

Additionally, a five-year strategic operational plan has been developed to meet the needs of children who require special education.

Over the past three years, the government has expended $3 billion on textbooks and by the end of this year, all primary and secondary school students will have access to a minimum of four textbooks per student due to this investment in the education sector.

Meanwhile, to ensure that children are provided with all they need to thrive, a total of 87,634 students are beneficiaries of the school feeding programme: Some 42,735 from juice and biscuits; 29,691 from hot meals, and 15,208 from breakfasts.

Additionally, some $8.5 billion in 2020 through 2023 alone was spent on the Because We Care grant.

“These are just a glimpse mate mitigation adaptation, internationally. We have positioned the agriculture sector as an expanded, diversified, modern, resilient and competitive sector with a 150 per