Prioritised health care funding, with extra resources going towards the most financially challenged communities and critical medical cases, is among the proposals made by the Blue C.A.P.S advocacy group for the next government.
It also says the next government should commit to making financial support to low economic class citizens and those with life threatening illnesses priority, as well as to improving the services provided by the National Insurance Scheme to prevent loss of access to insurance coverage.
The proposals are part of a manifesto compiled by the group and released on April 11th–a month ahead of the upcoming general elections—to address four areas which are represented by the group’s four committees: Democracy and Governance, Health, Economic Affairs and Development and Human Rights.
“…We believe that a document generated by citizens has great value and can be used to hold the party/parties that form the next government accountable, not only for their promises but also for the ‘list of demands’ generated by the citizens,” the group says in the document, while noting that in addition to identifying the ills of society, there is benefit to be gained from generating possible solutions to problems as well.
“There are many things that need to be done to improve the lives of our citizens and there is much to be done to improve the country, its image, infrastructure, the viability of our economy, the general health and well-being of our citizens,” it adds, while calling the manifesto a working document. It said consultations will continue as it works to refine the proposals, after which it will begin advocacy.
The proposals for Health set out in the manifesto also address health care facilities and include the setting up of sustainable, coordinated infrastructure to address what the group calls the “Non-communicable disease epidemic” in Guyana. It also proposes making the Cardiac Catheterisation lab at the Georgetown Public Hospital fully functional; the recruitment and training of oncologists and improved access to cancer treatment nationwide; and the renovation and upgrade of regional hospitals to specialty facilities.
Addressing mental health, the group notes that the appropriate services must be armed to respond to increasing demands by the nation and it urges that mental health care for both adults and children receive needed funding to improve results.
It also suggests the establishment of a Department of Behavioural and Developmental Disabilities as well as the setting up of a state-of-the-art in-patient mental health institution that will be equipped for both adults and children.
Maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy are also areas for which the manifesto outlined proposals. On the former, it is noted that many women are still dying of preventable illnesses during pregnancy and Guyana has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the Americas. As a result, it says government’s commitment is needed to enable better access to maternal health services and it urges addressing the shortage of obstetricians, emergency facilities and essential medicine.
On teenage pregnancy, the manifesto notes that Guyana was ranked second highest in the region for teenage birth rate in the 2013 World Population Report. “It is clear that teenage pregnancy results in poor health, under achievement and low earnings for both mother and her child,” it added. As a result, the manifesto recommends that government, among other things, provides assessment, policy development and planning to reduce the incidence and prevalence of teenage pregnancy, and provide comprehensive family planning services specifically designed to meet the needs of citizens.
In its focus on Human Rights, the manifesto calls for several of the more prominent abuses in Guyana to be addressed and eliminated. It urges inquiries into the numerous extra-judicial killings and the introduction of several accountability measures and technologies, such as closed circuit television (CCTV) and body and vehicle surveillance cameras to reduce or eliminate police abuses. It also urges a review of the existing mechanisms for police accountability in order to strengthen the public’s knowledge and access while making the avenues for recourse more effective.
The manifesto also demands an elimination of discrimination through measures such as a repeal of discriminatory laws, including those that criminalise same sex intimacy, formulation of a competent and impartial Ethnic Relations Commission as well as the implementation of legislative and education policies.
Access to justice, provision of education and protection in the areas of sexual and reproductive health rights and improvement in the protection of children’s rights round off the list of demands in this area.
Under the area of Economic Affairs and Development, the group calls for the development of an economy which not only fosters economic growth but makes provisions to address the inequalities generated by a capitalist system.
“Economic growth is meaningful only if the fruits of growth are equitably distributed; otherwise, we risk becoming an ever more divided and polarised society,” it says, while adding that despite some schemes to encourage entrepreneurship and diversification of the economy, Guyana still lags behind many countries in the western hemisphere in the area of successful home grown manufacturing enterprises. “Blue C.A.P.S believes that by empowering the individual and the private sector, we will have a creative economy that will propel us forward in our next stage of economic development,” it further says.
In the area of Democracy and Govern-ance, Blue C.A.P.S calls for local government elections—last run off in 1994—to be held so as to organically develop natural community leadership by encouraging individuals to serve their communities. It also urges bipartisanship, constitutional reform, accountability and transparency, the promotion of multiculturalism and active engagement with civil society.
