Dear Editor,
Guyana is being celebrated globally as the fastest-growing economy in the world. We hear daily about trillion-dollar national budgets, record oil revenues, and unprecedented economic expansion under the leadership of Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration. Yet for one Guyanese family, that “prosperity” means nothing.
A child in this country now has to undergo surgery at a private hospital at a staggering cost of $9 million because the public health system cannot perform the procedure. Even more troubling, the very doctor employed within the public system is the same doctor performing the surgery privately. Is this what “putting people first” looks like?
How can we boast about trillion-dollar budgets while parents must beg, borrow, or plunge into debt to save their child’s life? What exactly are we prioritizing if life-saving procedures remain inaccessible at the nation’s premier public institution, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation?
The PPP/C government cannot continue to hide behind economic statistics while ordinary citizens carry extraordinary burdens. Oil wealth was promised to transform lives — not to widen the gap between those who can afford private healthcare and those who cannot.
If the expertise exists locally, why is the public hospital not equipped to facilitate the procedure? If the state can allocate billions to infrastructure, hospitality ventures, and grand announcements, why can it not ensure that a child’s surgery is fully covered? Healthcare is not a luxury. It is not a privilege. It is a fundamental responsibility of the state.
In a trillion-dollar economy, no parent should face a $9 million bill to save their child’s life. The Government of Guyana must immediately intervene and cover the full cost of this surgery. Anything less would be a betrayal of the promise that oil wealth would benefit all Guyanese. Economic growth means nothing if it does not protect the most vulnerable. Putting people first must be more than a slogan — it must be a practice.