Government partners with Northwell Health as cancer rate goes up

Given rising cancer rates among Guyanese, the Government of Guyana intends to strengthen its capacity to train healthcare professionals and expand treatment options through international collaborations.

President Dr Irfaan Ali, earlier this week, expressed concern over the nation’s cancer statistics. Dr Ali emphasised the importance of early screening, noting that early detection can save lives.

To equip healthcare professionals with the necessary training to treat these cancers, Guyana has partnered with Northwell Health Centre, a non-profit healthcare provider based in the United States of America. The Centre has committed to working with Guyana to provide much-needed support in healthcare training.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony addressed the country’s efforts to improve the training of healthcare workers and its overall response to escalating health concerns. While commenting on a recent donation of $209 million by the George Subraj Family Foundation to Northwell Health to facilitate the training of doctors, the Minister said such partnerships will be transformative for Guyana.

“One of the areas we really have to work on is training. That’s why this initiative is so vital. Through the partnership with Northwell, we’ll be able to send our doctors to acquire advanced skills and work with the latest technology. They can then return and implement some of these technologies here at home — and I think that’s groundbreaking,” Minister Anthony said.

The government has also implemented several programmes to encourage citizens to get screened for various types of cancer.