Guyana’s national child health screening programme is unmatched globally in its speed and reach, according to the executive director of the Guyana–Mount Sinai Health Initiative, Dr Rachel Vreeman, who on Thursday praised the country’s efforts to transform healthcare delivery for children and adolescents.
Dr Vreeman made the remarks following the second-quarter Steering Committee meeting of the Guyana–Mount Sinai National Healthcare Initiative at State House in Georgetown, where President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali was briefed on progress made under the partnership.
The meeting reviewed advancements across several key pillars of the initiative, including digital health transformation, child and adolescent health screening, cardiovascular care, cancer services and future projects aimed at supporting Guyana’s transition to a modern healthcare economy.
Highlighting one of the programme’s most significant achievements, Dr Vreeman revealed that more than 86,000 children and adolescents across Guyana have already undergone comprehensive health screenings.
The screenings assess vision, hearing, dental health, developmental milestones and overall physical wellbeing, providing health officials with critical data to identify and address issues at an early stage.
“To date, over 86,000 children and adolescents in Guyana have received health screenings that evaluate their dental care, their vision, their hearing, their development, and a full physical exam,” Dr Vreeman stated.
She described the programme as a model for countries around the world.
“Guyana’s ability to move forward with this national child health screening programme is unparalleled around the world. I have not seen a single country that has been able to move forward with this kind of early childhood initiative with the speed and coverage that Guyana has,” she said.
According to Dr Vreeman, the initiative is laying the foundation for a stronger and more responsive healthcare system for future generations.
The executive director said the next phase of the programme will focus on expanding services for adolescents and strengthening specialised care for children with developmental and behavioural conditions.
Among the priorities are enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic services for children living with autism, expanding mental health support, addressing substance use challenges among young people and increasing access to specialised paediatric services.
Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, expressed his gratitude for the venture, especially the results yielded from the school health programme.
“In school health, we’ve been able to screen more than 4000 children in nursery, primary and secondary. Based on the findings, they were able to help,” the minister said.
The Guyana–Mount Sinai National Healthcare Initiative was launched to support the government’s vision of building a world-class healthcare system through strategic investments in infrastructure, human resource development, digital transformation and specialised medical services.