New Essequibo Drug Bond to cut medicine delivery from weeks to hours – President Ali

Patients across Region Two and neighbouring communities will soon receive medicines and medical supplies in a fraction of the time following the commissioning of a new Ministry of Health Drug Bond at Onderneeming, Region Two, on Saturday.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali said the facility represents a major step in the government’s drive to decentralise healthcare services, modernise the pharmaceutical supply chain and ensure that no patient is left waiting for essential medication.

“This drug bond and others like it being established across the country will become the physical backbone of a new modern health supply chain,” the president said during the commissioning ceremony.

The new facility will serve hospitals, health centres and health posts throughout Region Two, including communities in the Pomeroon River, while also supporting sections of Region One.

According to the president, medicines that once took days or even weeks to reach remote communities from Georgetown can now be delivered in less than a day.

“This facility changes that in a dynamic way. It allows us to stock sufficient quantities of medicines to meet the specific needs of this region,” President Ali stated, noting that the decentralised system will significantly improve emergency response and patient care.

The head of state explained that the drug bond forms part of a wider transformation of Guyana’s healthcare logistics network.

The government is developing a fully digitised inventory management system powered by artificial intelligence, allowing health officials to monitor medicine stocks in real time, predict shortages, reduce waste and prevent drugs from expiring in storage.

He said the system will also strengthen accountability by tracking every stage of the pharmaceutical supply chain, identifying delays and enabling patients to provide direct feedback on whether prescribed medicines are available at public health facilities.

“We are partnering with a global expert to establish an AI-powered system that will provide us with real-time data to guide our decision-making,” the president explained. 

“Data-driven intelligence will allow us to prevent waste, predict challenges, and plan,“ the head of state said.

The president underscored that the new drug bond complements the government’s wider investments in healthcare across Region Two, including mammography services, CT scanning, eye care laboratory voucher programmes, and the imminent commissioning of dialysis services at the Suddie Public Hospital.

He disclosed that more than 435 mammograms, over 500 CT scans, and 800 X-rays have already been completed in the region.

Thousands of residents have benefited from government-funded eye care and laboratory testing initiatives.

President Ali said the commissioning of the Onderneeming drug bond signals the end of an era in which patients were forced to purchase medicines privately because public facilities had run out of stock.

“We refuse to accept a situation where a patient at a public health facility has to go to a private pharmacy simply because the medicine is unavailable,” he said, stating, “This drug bond is a powerful declaration that we are ending that era of scarcity.”

(Republished from the Department of Public Security)