The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is in the final stages of preparing a US$60M loan facility that will assist Guyana in strengthening its health care network.
According to project documents seen by Guyana Standard, the IDB will support the said project through a Sector Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP). The objective of the CCLIP is to improve the health of the Guyanese population through increased access, quality, and efficiency of health services. The specific objectives of the project are to improve health outcomes associated with low and high complexity procedures, by expanding the capacity of strategic hospitals; extend the coverage of diagnostic, medical consultation, and patient management services, inclusive of the country’s hinterlands, through digital health; and increase the efficiency of the public health system, by strengthening key logistic, management, and support processes and inputs.
The first operation and CCLIP are structured in three components: Component 1— Supporting hospital health services networks (US$48M); Component 2— Strengthening digital health (US$7.2M); and Component 3—Promoting health sector management and efficiency (US$3M). A total of US$1.8M has been set aside for administration, programme monitoring, and evaluation.
Once completed, it is estimated that approximately 40% of the Guyanese population will have greater access to clinical and diagnostic services while the population as a whole will benefit from higher quality health care.
According to the IDB, this project builds upon lessons learned from the operation of the “Support to Improve Maternal and Child Health” Project which was approved in 2016 and is currently in its last year of execution, and technical cooperation (TC).
Importantly, the project has resulted in an increase in the percentage of women receiving antenatal care before 12 weeks of pregnancy and a reduction in those with anemia at the first antenatal visit.
