Eye care and health vouchers expanded to all citizens across Guyana

A health official signs the MoU

The Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday with 67 private health facilities to ensure the continued delivery of healthcare voucher programmes for citizens across the country.
Under the partnership, several voucher programmes will remain available nationwide. These include the Eye Testing Voucher valued at $2,000, the Spectacles Voucher valued at $15,000, the Cervical Cancer Screening Voucher valued at $8,000, and the Universal Health Vouchers for children and adults valued at $10,000. Vouchers can be collected from health centres across the country.
The expanded initiative will now provide all citizens with access to eye care screenings, as opposed to just those aged 18 and younger or 50 and over.
Delivering remarks at the signing, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said the data generated through the voucher system had allowed the ministry to detect chronic conditions earlier, including diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers.
He stated that the agreement marks the continuation of a collaboration that has significantly expanded access to diagnostic and preventive care over the past two years.
He also emphasised the importance of expanding services into rural and hinterland communities to ensure equitable access.
“This is not just a casual partnership. This is something that is helping our population gain more accessible testing, but the utilisation of what we test and how we use that information is also extremely important,” Dr. Anthony said.
“We really want you to help us extend this so that more people can benefit from what we are doing,” Dr. Anthony urged private providers.
The ministry is also exploring the inclusion of additional services, such as ultrasound testing, once standardised pricing can be agreed upon with providers.