Pact signed for phase two of national healthcare initiative

Mar 26, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News- The Government of Guyana has teamed up with energy giant Hess Corporation and the US based Mount Sinai Hospital to roll out the next phase of its national healthcare initiative.

 The partnership with the two leading organisations and the Government of Guyana was announced on Tuesday by President Irfaan Ali as he detailed his five-year extension of the National Healthcare Initiative to transform Guyana’s public health system.

 According to a joint press statement issued by the Guyana Government, Hess and Mount Sinai, the next phase of the initiative which was launched in 2022 will include establishment of a national cancer centre, continued modernisation of national health facilities including Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, and the implementation of one of the world’s most advanced digital health systems.

The release noted that through partnership with Government of Guyana, Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation made  significant progress made in the first phase of the national healthcare initiative, where Mount Sinai supported the Guyana Ministry of Health in rolling out the Government’s health system innovations, including over 35,000 child health screenings, the Ministry’s training programmes that will graduate nearly 900 nursing assistants in 2025, and a new state-of-the-art pathology lab.

The initiative will continue to be funded jointly by Hess Corporation and the Government of Guyana and led by the Arnhold Institute for Global Health, the arm of Mount Sinai dedicated to advancing the institution’s mission of delivering innovative, high-quality healthcare around the globe, and Mount Sinai International, the international ventures arm of the Mount Sinai Health System.

On Tuesday, President Ali was joined by Dr. Rachel Vreeman, Chair of Mount Sinai’s Department of Global Health and Health System Design and Director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and John Hess, CEO of Hess Corporation, for a signing ceremony to establish the five-year extension of the national healthcare initiative.

President Ali noted that “The journey to world-class healthcare is not walked alone – it is built through strategic partnerships, bold investments, and a shared vision for excellence. Today, we take another decisive step toward transforming our healthcare system. By uniting the policy, expertise and resources of Hess Corporation, Mount Sinai, and the Government, along with our local healthcare professionals, we are shaping a future where every citizen has access to cutting-edge, compassionate, and high-quality care. Together, we are not just improving healthcare – we are redefining it.”

CEO John Hess said: “We are proud to support the vision of the Government and the work of Mount Sinai to provide world class healthcare to every Guyanese citizen. Access to affordable and high-quality healthcare is central to the country’s future and its commitment to building shared prosperity for the people of Guyana.”

“At Mount Sinai, we believe global health is local health, and with the Government of Guyana and the Hess Corporation, we’re building a public health system that ensures all citizens of Guyana – especially the most vulnerable – can live healthier, more productive lives,” said Dr. Brendan Carr, Chief Executive Officer, and Professor and Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Distinguished Chair of the Mount Sinai Health System. “This unique public-private partnership serves as a global model, and we are honoured to be part of this transformational effort.”

“We are incredibly proud to work in partnership with the Government of Guyana to improve access to high-quality healthcare for all Guyanese,” said Dr. Vreeman. “Now, through 2030, we will continue to support and accelerate Guyana’s progress to achieving a healthier country and a transformed health system, setting a new regional and global standard for modern health system development.”

Meanwhile, the release detailed that significant progress is being made in improving health outcomes since this national healthcare initiative’s launch in July 2022. Under initiative, over 35,000 Guyanese children have had comprehensive health screenings completed by the Ministry of Health, with around a quarter referred on for needed services to address vision, hearing, dental, and developmental problems and more.

Added to this, nearly 900 nursing assistants will graduate from the Ministry of Health’s training programmes in 2025 and join the health workforce, beginning to close the nursing shortage.

The release noted too that new guidelines and clinical protocols to grow primary care services for diseases like diabetes are launching nationally, across all of Guyana’s regions.

Additionally, new digital protection laws are in place to support the rollout of new digital health systems, and a new Guyana digital health training institute will enroll its first class of digital health professionals early next year.

Further, a state-of-the-art pathology lab has reduced the time it takes for patients to be diagnosed and receive life-saving treatments. The document noted that quality improvements at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation have improved patient safety and are providing a new model for a national quality improvement programme.

According to the release, the next phase of the national initiative will be organised around the Government’s vision for six key pillars including World Class Cancer Care, Women’s and Children’s Hospital: Quality Improvement: Digital Health and Capacity Building.

(Pact signed for phase two of national healthcare initiative)

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• Government of Guyana, Hess Corporation, Mount Sinai Hospital

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